As part of our response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, we have been working hard to produce the data that the government needs to take the difficult decisions to mitigate the effects of the virus on our economy and society.
As part of this, we have received new data from a number of private and public sector organisations to help us improve current statistics or produce new metrics. Examples of this that we have already publicised include using Barclays and Revolut data to help us weight tourism and inflation statistics as well as publicly available traffic camera data to help us produce faster economic indicators.
We have also had access to data from other suppliers in the payment industry - VISA, FIS and Vocalink, a Mastercard company. We have also had access to data from BT, who published details of this data sharing, and data from O2.
All data received have been anonymised and aggregated so no individuals or businesses are identifiable, in line with data protection regulations. While these data have not directly been used in the compilation of our statistics, they have been used to inform our figures and some wider government decisions. In receiving and handling these data, we have at all times been mindful of and guided by important principles around proportionality, ethical oversight, security and the need for regular reviews.
As these data were supplied and owned by private sector organisations, in most cases they have not and will not be separately published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).