The pandemic made one thing clear in 2020: getting the right information to people at the right time can be a matter of life and death.

Yet dangerous gaps in our public data and communication systems put all of us at risk.

Whether it was costly black holes in social care data, repeated mistakes about testing figures, or a lack of transparency over where statistics came from, the public deserved better from government communications.

In our second annual report funded by the Nuffield Foundation, we draw on our nearly 400 coronavirus fact checks to call for a clear commitment to build stronger foundations for good information.

As vaccines continue to be rolled out across the UK, we set out urgent recommendations to improve the collection, use and communication of information, including:

• Work with transparency and accountability: Government analysts should speak directly to the press, to ensure that complex statistical or data-related questions can be answered accurately and quickly
   
• Correct communications mistakes: In light of last year’s missteps, there should be a Parliamentary inquiry into the oversight of government communications
   
• Back up what you say with evidence: When ministers, government departments, or officials refer to data or information when speaking to the public, the media or Parliament, the full data must be made publicly available in real time
   
• Be clear on targets: When the government publicly sets itself a specific target as part of a policy pledge, it should publish a set of metrics against which it will measure its progress, so the public and others can hold it to account.