Development of a research-ready dataset linking data on children and young people in London held by Local Authorities and healthcare providers

Background

There are serious challenges facing social care, education and health services for children and young people in England. Beyond high profile cases of avoidable child deaths, the social costs of poor outcomes of children in the care system are estimated to be £23 billion per year. From obesity to death rates, children's health outcomes are worse than in many comparable European countries. Many children have missed extended periods of school and fallen behind on learning during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Across Government, it is recognized that a joined-up strategy is needed to tackle these challenges. New research is needed to understand the links between sectors and identify the most effective interventions to improve children's outcomes. While some research questions are best studied using national datasets, other questions benefit from the additional breadth and depth of Local Authority and health data held at local or regional level.

Aims and activities

Develop a research-ready dataset

The primary objective of this project is to create a research-ready dataset linking data held on children by Local Authorities (including education & social care) and health services (including primary, secondary, mental health and community care). The first stage of the project will focus on the 8 Local Authorities in North West London, where our team has strong existing relationships and early work to link Local Authority and health data is already underway. In the second half of the project, we aim to scale up to a pan-London linked dataset.
A central strand of this work will be transparent communication with children, young people and families whose data will be included in the dataset, to explain the potential benefits, and the measures in place to protect confidentiality.

Pathfinder projects

Two pathfinder projects will showcase the feasibility and potential impact of using the new, research-ready datasets to guide spending and policy decisions. The first project will develop user-friendly information on Looked After Children in each Local Authority (e.g. how many are in contact with mental health services, and how does this compare to other areas?). The second project will demonstrate the value of the new dataset to address research gaps in key national policy questions. We will do one or more example projects that look at the impact of interventions in one sector on outcomes in another sector (e.g., does earlier support from mental health services improve later outcomes for Looked After Children).

Training and capacity building

The long-term aim of the project is that other researchers will use the new linked dataset for a wide range of new research projects, which will lead to more evidence-based and effective policies and services for children and young people. To make it as easy as possible for researchers to use this dataset, we will
- deliver training sessions for Local Authority staff working within Children's Services, Public Health, and data teams. This work will make sure they are aware of the new dataset and understand what kinds of analysis and research it can be used for.
- deliver a similar programme of training sessions for researchers who would like to use the new dataset.
- provide resources including data dictionaries and open-source code, and help to troubleshoot any problems when they start using the data.

Expected impact

We believe that the proposed new dataset will enable research leading to more evidence-based local and national strategies to support children, with potential to deliver huge tangible benefits in reduced spending and improved outcomes (for example fewer children needing Local Authority care, missing school, or being admitted to hospital).