Children are being left unsupported and exposed to avoidable harm because public services are failing to share information effectively, according to a new report involving University of Leeds research
Researchers, policymakers, public service leaders and practitioners are calling for the national rollout of a connected data model that they say could improve outcomes for children, strengthen public services and support economic growth, while ensuring data remains under local control.
Published by Child of the North and partners, Connecting data: Intelligent and informed delivery to support every child to succeed sets out how proven approaches already operating in Northern England could be scaled nationally to tackle longstanding data-sharing challenges across children's services.
The report includes significant contributions from University of Leeds researchers, who helped develop the evidence base underpinning the report and shape its consensus recommendations.
The report warns that children continue to fall through the gaps because the services supporting them operate in separate systems. Challenges in children's lives often span health, education, social care and wider family circumstances, yet information is frequently not shared effectively between organisations.
More than two million children in England live in families facing complex needs. The report also highlights evidence showing that poor information sharing, delayed responses and fragmented services contributed to 81% of serious incidents in which a child died or suffered serious harm.
According to the report, the challenge is not a lack of data but a lack of the infrastructure, governance and political commitment needed to use existing information safely and effectively across organisational boundaries.
A devolved approach to connected data
The authors call on government to adopt a national "Connected Integrated Care Board (ICB)" model that would use existing NHS infrastructure to connect data across health, education, social care and other public services.
Rather than creating a single central database, the proposed model would allow local systems to retain control of their data while contributing to a connected national network that supports better decision-making, service improvement and research.
The report states: "The goal is not a single central database, but an interconnected ecosystem in which trusted local systems generate insight, improve services, and support research and innovation at national scale."
Professor Mark Mon-Williams Chair in Cognitive Psychology in the School of Psychology at the University of Leeds and Director of the Born in Bradford Centre for Applied Education Research, said: "The UK has a remarkable opportunity to harness its data assets in an ethical way that directly benefits all children and young people and places the UK at the vanguard of the data and AI revolution sweeping the world.
"The Child of the North model shows how the UK can control its destiny and grow its economy by leveraging our existing assets, including the NHS, by adopting a regionally devolved approach to connecting data."
Building on proven models
The report points to Connected Bradford as an example of how linked data can be used safely and effectively in practice.
By bringing together information from health, education, social care and policing, the programme has helped identify patterns of need across populations, support earlier intervention, improve service coordination and enable research at scale.
The authors argue that such examples demonstrate that connected data can be delivered lawfully and with public trust when a devolved model is adopted.
Benefits beyond children's services
Alongside improving outcomes for children and families, the report highlights broader benefits for research, innovation and the economy.
It describes connected data infrastructure as "an asset for science, innovation and economic growth" and argues that a national model could cement the UK's position as a leader in data-driven research and public service innovation.
Children's lives don't fit neatly into the silos that services are built around.
The report also stresses the costs of responding to problems only after they have escalated, arguing that better-connected services would support earlier intervention, improve efficiency and strengthen the long-term sustainability of public services.
Its recommendations include:
- A national mandate for lawful data linkage.
- A Connected ICB programme across England.
- Long-term investment in data infrastructure.
- Trusted governance arrangements.
- Better frontline information sharing.
- Full participation of education services in data-sharing arrangements.
- Stronger accountability for shared outcomes.
The report concludes that connected data should be treated as essential public-service infrastructure rather than a technical enhancement, stating:
"Connected data must be seen as core public-service infrastructure: essential if we are serious about prevention, earlier intervention, public trust and better outcomes."
Haroon Chowdry, Chief Executive of the Centre for Young Lives, said: "Children's lives don't fit neatly into the silos that services are built around.
“Whether it's education, healthcare or child protection, if services can't see the full picture then children fall through the gaps, and opportunities to help them are missed.
"This report shows that the solutions already exist. Connected data can transform how we identify the needs of children and families, enabling better and earlier support, not just keeping children safe, but also delivering a better deal for children, public services and the economy."
The authors are now urging government to move beyond isolated local initiatives and back a nationally supported, regionally delivered approach to connected data, beginning with children and families, where the need for joined-up services is often greatest.
Further information
The University of Leeds contributors to the report included Professor Mark Mon-Williams, Dan Birks, Professor Faisal Mushtaq, Evie Shore, Haleema Rabeea, Dr Kara Gray-Burrows, Matthew Warburton, Nell Schofield, Professor Nick Malleson, Olivia Jones, Owen Johnson, Peter Day, Professor Robin Evans and Professor Sam Relton.
University contributors to the Delphi process included Ali Quaile, Andrew Brown, Andy Cameron, Professor Cécile De Cat, Professor Chris Brown, Hannah Nash, Maryam Makanvand and Professor Paula Clarke.
This report is a collaborative programme of work between Child of the North, N8 Computationally Intensive Research, and the Centre for Young Lives, with the support of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration Yorkshire and Humber, and contributions from researchers, policymakers and practitioners across the North of England and beyond.
For media enquiries, please contact the press office via pressoffice@leeds.ac.uk