Responding to Covid-19: Data, tech, and the devolved administrations

Over the coming months, I’ll be posting a series of articles on issues arising from, and responses to, Covid-19 in the UK and beyond. In the first of this series, I discussed the role and value of place based data for local resilience and recovery. In this, I cover the different directions being taken by the devolved administrations of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales with respect to data and tech responses to Covid-19. This is based on recent webinar, ‘Test, trace and trust: digital technologies and the COVID-19’, hosted by the Ada Lovelace Institute.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (the devolved administrations) have authority and responsibility for public health in their own jurisdictions. While prior to and since the announcement of lockdown on March 23 2020, England and the devolved administrations have largely taken a shared approach. This was until 10 May when the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, announced a number of measures to begin easing lockdown restrictions in England.

Since 10 May, we’ve started to see a sharp divergence of approach which raises many complex issues about the relationship between the four countries. And one area this is clearly playing out, beyond differing policy responses and plans including issues of cross-border movement, is with respect to data and tech.

And the issue with data and tech? What needs to be clarified is what’s the purpose of the data being collected, how it will be used, and potentially used for different purposes, the extent to which an open data approach is taken. This will be key to public trust and uptake.

The webinar was Chaired by Imogen Parker, Head of Policy, Ada Lovelace Institute. Speakers included:

• Dr Angela Daly, Senior Lecturer, Co-Director of the Centre for Internet Law & Policy, Strathclyde University
• Professor Maurice Mulvenna, Professor of Computer Science, Ulster University
• Professor Pete Burnap, Professor of Data Science & Cybersecurity, School of Computer Science & Informatics, Cardiff University

Covid-19 and the devolved administrations

Each of the devolved administrations have different challenges in responding to Covid-19 between themselves and with England. Issues include how populations are dispersed across cities, towns, and the countryside, how the public health and wider health systems are managed and run, and different border relationships. What is similar across the four countries is that the number of Covid-19 related deaths up to this point is commensurate with population, not population density which often seems assumed.

Northern Ireland

The Northern Ireland Executive have announced a 5 phase plan to lifting lockdown. It includes no dates. Timing will be determined by the scientific evidence and data on rates of infections and deaths as well as other factors.

The issue of borders with the rest of the UK, with the Republic of Ireland, come to the fore. There’s a risk of a second wave of infections if there’s a mismatch between approaches taken by Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The Republic of Ireland will of course be developing their own plans and approach.

Particular challenges emerge with the development of the Contract Tracing App developed by NHSX. As yet, it’s not well understood as to how well it works and whether the current centralised model is appropriate. The Republic of Ireland is looking to develop a contract tracing app, most likely taking a decentralised approach. More widely there are calls for a wider pan-European approach.

The question remains as to whether across Ireland there will be one app, or two. This is not a technical issue as much as it is a political one.

More generally, the NHS in Northern Ireland is moving towards a greater provision of services using digital. While this has broadly been welcomed and seen as a positive, there remains a risk that getting the digital approach to the Covid-19 response will damage this wider approach towards digital health interventions.

Scotland

In Scotland, a web based tool to support data requirements is being developed.  Up to now, the approach has largely been the same as England. However, while there are many similarities, there are also differences in the spread of populations including Scotland having a number of remote communities and of course the Scottish Isles.

Scotland too has developed its own pathway on steps and requirements for easing lockdown, and provided information on how decisions have been and will be taken. And government is developing a track, trace, isolate and support strategy which is due at the end of May. It will be building its own web based digital tool rather than using the NHSX app. As yet, it remains unclear how data from the NHSX app will inform the Scottish approach to contact tracking. Thus far there is little information on the Scottish web based approach – the type of data that will be collected, what the Data Protection Impact Assessment will look like, data security measures and so on.

The Scottish government is current recruiting 2,000 manual tracers. The process for track, trace, isolation and support will be automated as far as possible.

Wales

The focus in Wales has very much been on the NHS and practicalities including increasing the availability of PPE. There are variations in infection rates across Wales. It’s not year clear if there will be a convergence on approaches to the tracing app. It will be essential that if there is a convergence of approaches that it includes access in Welsh. There is also a focus on other digital tools such as the development of a chatbot to take some of the pressure off NHS111, a medical helpline that operates in England, Scotland and Wales.

Moving forward

What was clear from the discussion is that any data collected and tech deployed will need to have a clear and well communicated purpose including in terms of what is being used and how it will help.

But many questions remain.

Do we take a borderless approach across the UK? On the face of it, this might seem to make sense, until we consider how people move about, particularly in Ireland. Could there be a pan-European approach? Again, this is a political issue, not a tech one.

How do we get the balance right between a UK wide approach while also meeting local requirements?

How do we manage the new challenges posed by countries taking different approaches? What about people who work across borders? For instance, there are many people who work in Wales but live in England, and vice versa. What about those with family across borders? What about travel for work or to see family between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland?

Our response to Covid-19 is not politically neutral. Data and tech is not neutral. Decisions need to be made about what will work for individuals, for communities, for nations as a whole. Underpinning this is the very real need in the deployment of any new tech, and in data, that it is done in such a way that is open, transparent, trustworthy, and that clear accountability is built in from the outset.