FOI reference: FOI-2026-3378
You asked
I am writing to request the following documents under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. These documents are referenced in materials published by the UK Statistics Authority and associated government sources:
1. The IPA Gateway 4 Assurance Review for the Integrated Data Service as referenced in the March 2023 Board Papers:
2. All outcome documents of the Integrated Data Service service assessment with the Central Digital and Data Office, as referenced in the April 2023 Board Papers:
3. Documents or information relating to the external scrutiny or assurance processes for the programme referenced in Professor Denise Lievesley's Independent Review of UKSA:
"The programme is subject to a separate scrutiny process which the Review will not seek to duplicate"
4. Any interim or final evaluation findings or outputs related to the evaluation listed in the Cabinet Office Evaluation Registry under the title "Publication of interim results" (October 2024):
https://evaluation-registry.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/search/421a6964-ba08-46e0-bf38-7eda64c8c7a0/
We said
Thank you for your request.
All reviews undertaken by the Central Digital and Data Office into the Integrated Data Service are freely available on the Government Digital Service website:
Our intention is to publish the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA) – formerly Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) – assurance reviews of the Integrated Data Programme (IDP) following the closure of the programme in March 2026. It is our understanding that the NISTA gateway reviews of the IDP represent the scrutiny process to which Professor Denise Lievesley's Independent Review of the UK Statistics Authority refers.
Our intention is to publish the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) IDP Mid-Term Evaluation Report (2024) following the closure of the programme in March 2026. Our intention is also to publish an end-of-programme evaluation of the IDP following the closure of the programme in March 2026.
As such, Section 22 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) applies. We appreciate there is public interest in disclosure so the public can understand more about the status of the Integrated Data Programme. However, we must also consider the public interest in allowing time and space for quality decision-making regarding the future of the IDS itself and wider data sharing practices, both in the ONS and across government. This space is necessary to facilitate open debate regarding next steps and to appropriately manage relationships and communications with affected stakeholders. Prejudice to this space would reduce the efficacy of this policy formulation process, which would not be in the public interest. The weight therefore falls in favour of withholding the information at this stage.