Rwanda Bill ‘Breached Government’s Own Rules on Publishing Evidence’, Report Finds

The SNP, Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru and Green Party have all signed a commitment to ensure that the next government publishes all of the evidence behind new policies. 

Now the non-profit group, Sense about Science, is calling on Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer to confirm that, if they lead the next government, they will explicitly direct departments to follow the rules and tell the public what research supports their policy plans. 

A transparency review by independent charity Sense about Science of recent Government policy measures has found that three out of six failed to meet the test of whether a motivated citizen can see what evidence the Government has used or assessed in its decision-making. 

While the report noted that departments were getting better at linking to the evidence they used, there was still “consistent failure” to evaluate the quality of the evidence and assess uncertainties used to back up government plans, it found. 

Some policies made extensive use of poorly referenced statistics, while others hindered transparency by ‘data dumping’, the reports claim.

The controversial Safety of Rwanda Bill – which deemed Rwanda to be a safe country by law to enable asylum deportations – was ‘supported’ by 700 pages of documents but with no clear reference to which, if any, actually legitimised the claims made in the policy.

One researcher described the amount of information in the Rwanda bill as “everything but the kitchen sink”. 

The report found that “poor referencing” obscured the “chain of reasoning”, with scorers finding it difficult to see how the evidence was used and whether it was critically evaluated. They also highlighted gaps in evidence, including a lack of data on certain groups vulnerable to discrimination.

“The document did not share any analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the evidence base when presenting options for implementation,” the report added. 

It comes amid fresh revelations of departmental reports being buried when ministers don’t like the findings – from a carers’ allowance scandal at the Department for Work and Pensions, to BEIS, the Department for Transport, the Home Office, Defra, and the Environment Agency.

Just this week, Rishi Sunak was ordered to publish secret documents showing the impact of his cut to Universal Credit, the Mirror reported. The Prime Minister had ignored pleas from campaigners such as footballer Marcus Rashford, as he scrapped a £20-per-week uplift to UC launched during the pandemic.

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Ipsos survey results released today show that 74% of British adults think it is important that the government shows all the evidence used to make important policy decisions. It marks a significant rise from 66% in 2023 and 61% in 2022. 

Only national security is considered a valid reason for not publishing independent research and analysis by a majority of the public, with little support for not publishing if findings are embarrassing for the government (12%), if they show the policy isn’t working (15%), if it’s too soon to judge the policies’ impacts (18%), or if the findings are very likely to be misunderstood (22%).

Tracey Brown, director of Sense about Science, said: “The rules on evidence have been clear since 2018, but departments are still regularly burying unfavourable reports and failing to explain their calculations. We need the leader of the next government to make it clear that ministers will be held accountable if their departments ignore the rules.

“People cannot be expected to trust government decisions if they cannot see the evidence behind them. Government has got to take that conversation with the public more seriously.”

The official Office for Statistics Regulation also backed the call for transparency in evidence, and for government to adhere to the guidelines.

Ed Humpherson, its director, said: “Government should publish its analytical evidence to support public accountability wherever possible, and every time analysis is used or quoted publicly.”

Responding to the report, Lib Dem Leader Ed Davey said: “Honesty and transparency are crucial to restoring trust in politics. People deserve to see the evidence behind the policies that impact them….

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“The rules are clear, and it’s time the Government delivered on its promise to stick to them.”

Other figures adding their support were the Green Party’s Co-Leaders in England and Wales, the UK Anti-Corruption Coalition, and Unlock Democracy.

Bu a spokesperson for Sense About Science added: “Until we hear back from the two main parties, it’s an open question as to how committed will Keir Starmer or Rishi Sunak be to sticking to the rules after the election.”

The Ipsos survey found that 49% of the public think the Government is poor at explaining both the advantages and disadvantages of their policies in the round, compared to only 11% who think the Government does it well.

Public ratings of major new government policy announcements are set to be provided by Sense about Science after the General Election, until all departments are consistently meeting official transparency requirements.

Ipsos interviewed a representative quota sample of 1,043 adults aged 18 to 75 in Britain. Interviews took place on the online Omnibus between 19 and 22 April 2024. Data has been weighted to be representative of the wider public.

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