ADR Wales
This year has marked a period of exceptional progress and impact for ADR Wales, underpinned by a clear commitment to mobilising data for public good and strengthening the evidence base for policy development in Wales.
One of the year’s standout events was the ADR UK Conference 2025 held in Cardiff, which brought together stakeholders from government, academia, and the third sector to showcase innovation in data use and foster meaningful collaboration.
A major milestone was the acquisition of HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) Income data – an accomplishment that opens up significant new opportunities for researchers to enhance their work with high-quality administrative data, particularly in areas vital to improving public services.
We also recorded our highest-ever number of interns across all ADR Wales project areas in the annual Population Data Science Summer Internship Programme, reflecting our continued commitment to developing the next generation of data professionals.
Relationships with policy leads and partners flourish
Our strong relationships with policy leads and partners continued to flourish. Highlights include engagement on educational pathways in collaboration with Medr and the Wales Centre for Public Policy, significant contributions to the Welsh Government’s Suicide and Self-harm Prevention Strategy, and active third sector liaison within the housing and homelessness team.
A key highlight was our support for Torfaen County Borough Council, where we provided hands-on assistance to help the local authority better understand and use its data. This collaboration contributed to their successful funding bid, enabling them to expand their data mobilisation efforts – an example of how our work empowers local services to generate and apply their own intelligence.
Partnership projects receive recognition
The successful delivery of the Better Outcomes Through Linked Data (BOLD) project in partnership with the Ministry of Justice, as well as new investment through the Cancer Data-Driven Detection (CD3) project with Cancer Research UK, further strengthened our capacity. Our work also received notable ministerial recognition this year, both for its past impact and our forward-looking vision for the reuse and sharing of government data.
As we reflect on this year’s achievements, we remain committed to advancing data use across Wales to support more informed policymaking and better public outcomes.
I’m incredibly proud of the team’s innovation, dedication, and tireless efforts to make data more accessible to researchers while acting as a vital bridge between academia and policy in Wales. Their work not only supports impactful research but also sets a standard for best practice, governance, and secure data access. By forging this path, they’re empowering others to unlock the potential of their own data and creating a stronger, more informed evidence base to support better decisions across the public sector.
Our team continues to demonstrate outstanding commitment to delivering novel, policy-informing research with the power to influence decision-making at the highest levels. The successful delivery of the ADR UK Conference 2025, hosted by our team, was a testament to the energy and coordination behind our work – bringing together the data linkage community to share, learn, and collaborate. Above all, the team's passion for showcasing the transformative value of administrative data linkage remains at the heart of everything we do, driving real-world impact across Wales and beyond.
Understanding pay disparities in Wales
ADR Wales’ Major Societal Challenges research programme delivers high-quality research on critical issues affecting Wales. In their latest project, the team proposes linking HMRC employed income data to existing datasets within SAIL Databank to investigate disparities in pay across protected characteristics. The initial focus will be on examining pay disparities across ethnic groups in Wales, with the aim of generating evidence on the ethnicity pay gap. This will inform evaluations of progress towards achieving the national wellbeing goal: 'A More Equal Wales'.
Working closely with ADR Wales colleagues in Welsh Government, the team aims to inform evidence-based policies on pay equality and support the development of long-term impact indicators for policy evaluation. This project will examine overall income – a broader measure than typical pay gap analyses, which often focus on average hourly or annual pay. This differs from equal pay, which refers to the legal requirement that men and women receive the same pay for work of equal value. Disparities in overall income reflect deeper, systemic inequalities.
In addition to exploring differences in income, the research will investigate intersectional disadvantage, examining how multiple demographic factors interact to compound inequities in pay.
This is the first time HMRC employed income data will be used for data linkage research in SAIL Databank. As such, the team will also assess its broader utility as a research resource.
The findings are intended to inform the evaluation of Welsh Government equality policies around fair pay across protected groups and provide a baseline to support the government's ongoing commitment to report on and eliminate pay gaps in Wales.
Flipping the perspective – desirable indicators of health
The ADR Wales Health and Wellbeing and Social Justice teams have collaborated to develop a population-wide, all-nations model of desirable health.
This work flips the traditional focus on negative health outcomes and life events, instead examining the positive indicators that, when combined, suggest good health. The model was created to address the challenges of measuring health and wellbeing directly – particularly in a way that is replicable across nations and resonates with both the public and policymakers.
The result is the Desirable Health Indicator (DHI), an annual, reproducible measure that calculates the proportion of the population who survive and do not use healthcare services. The DHI was inspired by the concept of New Year’s wishes for survival and the absence of undesirable events over the coming year in Wales. Events such as not being admitted to hospital, not attending an emergency department, and not needing to be prescribed medications for infection, mental health conditions, or pain were all classified as desirable outcomes.
The DHI has now been implemented in SAIL Databank and is being used in ongoing ADR Wales Health and Wellbeing projects.
Equity in tertiary education in Wales
ADR Wales Skills and Employability programme leads Rhys Davies and Dr Katy Huxley partnered with the Wales Centre for Public Policy to explore equity in tertiary education in Wales.
Commissioned by Welsh Government to assess the current landscape, the team undertook complex analysis of multiple data sources to examine the pathways taken through tertiary education across a wide range of personal characteristics.
They explored key questions such as:
- Who continues in education after age 16?
- What type of programme do they enrol in?
- What kind of institution do they attend?
The team linked extensive school education records to sixth form, further education college, and higher education data, along with Census 2011 data.
Their report to Medr – the Commission for Tertiary Education and Research in Wales – highlighted that young people from more socioeconomically deprived backgrounds are less likely to progress to tertiary education and are more likely to enter vocational rather than academic pathways.
By using linked data, the team provided a far more detailed analysis than had previously been possible. Traditional education inequality research often relies on a binary distinction based on free school meal eligibility. Rhys and Katy’s work incorporated a broader range of indicators, including census-based deprivation measures, and parental education and employment. They also examined sex-based patterns – such as a stronger female presence in A-Level pathways and higher education – and highlighted the significant barriers faced by learners with additional learning needs or disabilities.
The team continues to work with Medr to deliver robust, innovative evidence to inform the future of tertiary education policy in Wales.
