Building the platforms to share and use data effectively
Government is making it easier to share and use public sector data and technology safely. By building new infrastructure like the National Data Library (NDL) and amplifying departments’ work, we’ll help researchers, businesses and the public sector drive growth and improve delivery.
Our goal
The UK has a world-leading system for sharing public data and digital assets. It’s secure, trusted and drives better public services and economic growth through research and innovation.
What this means for you
Some projects within this initiative do not cover the whole UK. Whether they apply depends on the service and where it is available. The Devolved Governments decide how it will apply in their area.
- Easier access: if you work in public services, you’ll get the reliable access to the high quality data you need to do your job well.
- Save time on admin: if you’re a public sector worker, you’ll spend less time on repetitive administrative tasks and manual data energy and more time focusing on work that directly helps citizens.
- No more repeating yourself: your personal data will be shared safely and securely between services, meaning you only need to tell us once.
- Valuable insights for business: if you’re a business owner, you’ll be able to get secure access to reliable public data, helping you spot trends, develop new services and improve your future planning.
Our progress so far
This does not reflect all of the work teams across government are doing to improve the use of public sector data, but shows some of the key priorities across government.
April 2025: simplified data sharing for public bodies in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to improve decision making
DCMS launched a new data platform to replace the manual collection of data, including geographical spend data to understand where grants are made from DCMS across the country and survey data to understand how you interact with public bodies. This provides a single, standard way for public bodies to submit data routinely, saving time, reducing manual processing and providing DCMS faster access to reliable data for analysis and decision-making.
June 2025: announced funding for the National Data Library
DSIT announced over £100 million in funding for the National Data Library programme in the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy. The National Data Library is an ambitious programme that will maximise the use and impact of public sector data, enabling businesses, academia and the public sector to drive economic growth, innovation and better public services. This announcement has provided essential resources and support for this landmark piece of work.
July 2025: simplified the local search process for home buyers
HM Land Registry created a single digital register for England and Wales, transforming the local authority search process by providing instant online access to Local Land Charges information, with data from 127 local authorities already live. A research pilot is continuing into how additional search information for building regulations and highways data can be made more accessible.
What we’re planning to do next
Early 2026: share the vision for the National Data Library and kickstarter projects
DSIT will share progress on the National Data Library, with delivery informed by diverse user needs and expert advice. Early projects will showcase new ways of using public sector data to positively impact people’s lives.
March 2026: test ideas for better data sharing to increase accurate voter registration with users
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is exploring ways to make voter registration simpler and more accurate by integrating data across different services so that citizens can be automatically invited or reminded to register to vote, and maintain their registration details
Summer 2026: deliver secondary legislation for data standards to enable faster planning decisions
MHCLG will create data standards for local authority data for faster planning applications and better planning decisions. This means all local planning authorities will record this information consistently, to provide a national picture of development. This will make data open and of higher quality and drive efficiencies in our planning system.
November 2026: launch private beta of national infrastructure spatial tool to unlock planning barriers
This new tool will use data about planning applications and decisions from the Planning Data platform to provide important evidence that can be used to unblock barriers to housing and industrial growth.
December 2026: securely share data across classification levels to provide UK Defence with an operational advantage
The Ministry of Defence will integrate key intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance data across classification levels and operational domains. This will improve situational awareness, accelerate the targeting cycle, support military personnel and provide an advantage for UK Defence and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).
More information
For more information about the National Data Library, contact:
National Data Library Team
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
NDL.Engagement@dsit.gov.uk