Findings and recommendations from the first phase of COHDMAP

At present data collection and monitoring of the characteristics and turnover of local populations is patchy, piecemeal and poorly utilised. There is an urgent need for guidance and support for local, regional and national agencies in collecting or collating, analysing and using such information.
There is a need for mechanisms to ensure sharing and co-ordination of data. A register of local surveys would help to facilitate information sharing and learning.
There is an urgent need to provide local authorities and their partners with a form of template which they could use to bring together sources of information (of all types) and routine statistical data in a way which would give guidance to population change and tensions in their area - as well as helping them to plan and design their services according to changing needs. It would also point the way by which this data collection might need to be improved. Consideration should also be given to establishing some sort of centralised support unit, without necessarily creating a new national observatory body. This could advise and guide, and possibly even compile and analyse reports and data from local sites, comparing them and accessing larger national datasets, whilst providing a local model or template which each area could compile and use. The central unit could also maintain a relationship with (and facilitate interchange of ideas and approaches between) local areas and experts, thus better utilising their diverse systems of monitoring and interpretation.
It is not clear who should take the lead on national co-ordination and information sharing but the report suggests that local authorities, the department for Communities and Local government (DCLG), the Audit Commission, ONS and the Home Office should all be involved. An existing Observatory or an independent Higher Education Institution might provide a base for any central unit.
Local partnership working should be encouraged, so that all public and independent agencies including Local Authorities work in partnership with other statutory agencies, the private sector, Race Equality Councils, voluntary agencies and Local Strategic Partnerships. This should ideally be facilitated by Local Authorities who will need to provide leadership and should appoint a named responsible officer to adopt this role. This should be supported and encouraged by Government. Public sector agencies feel under pressure to respond to a diversity of agendas and will need to be assured that activity in this area is valued.
There are real concerns about data safety, which must be taken into account. The COHDMAP review did not find an overwhelming argument for linking personal (individual) data, and suggests that most of the desirable outcomes could be achieved by better use of anonymised routine monitoring data, using better collection, analysis and collation of variables on language, religion, culture, ethnicity/ethnic group and citizenship status, as appropriate.

The existing sources of data which appear to offer the greatest potential to meet the needs of service planners and managers include the following. In most cases their full potential value is dependent on action at national level:

The PLASC (annual school census) data which may build into a longitudinal database and can contain detailed information on family, ethnicity, language and movement. Currently there is wide variation in the way this source is used and there would be value in developing guidance to spread best practice and encourage consistency.
NHS Patient records, with (future) potential of the NHS electronic patient record system (EPR) providing an opportunity for discussions with the Health Services Information Centre about the design and development of the "secondary uses service".
Electoral roll registrations and the possibility of "enhanced" registration or re-analysis of data (provided that recent changes in the rules related to these records do not prevent this).
The Department of Work and Pensions longitudinal survey and linked datasets.
The registration of births and deaths, with the future possible inclusion of ethnicity data in the process to ensure that overall statistics on population growth and data derived from these sources can be used to monitor qualitative aspects of population change. The Kings Fund and others working with the London Public Health Observatory have made a cogent argument for this and the suggestion is still under discussion but would be an essential element of a national scheme.
The Housing Corporation/Association of RSLs CORE (housing) dataset and the development of a similar dataset for the remaining Local Authority housing stock.
A range of local sources which could be accessed through local information-based websites (such as IBNIS) and the use of GIS in Local Authorities and other local agencies to produce local information atlases.

The report also made a number of specific detailed pdf recommendations (40.35KB).