Overview of the ILR Change Process

The information authority runs a transparent process to consider requests to make changes to the ILR Specification. Decisions are made using published assessment criteria and stakeholders are consulted to comment on the potential impact of the changes.

Below is a flowchart of the process, along with an outline of what happens at each stage.

Discussion of future data needs

The information authority is happy to meet with data users or any other stakeholders to discuss their future data needs. For example, the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) may need to collect additional data through the ILR as a result of introducing a new funding stream. To have this considered, the organisation will need to submit a Request for Change. Where possible, similar data needs or issues will be collated at this early stage. 

Alternatively, a field may be identified as being of low value and a case may be made to remove it from the ILR.

How to submit a request

To propose a change to the ILR, a Request for Change form needs to be submitted to the information authority. The form asks for a brief business case to clarify the objectives of the change and the benefits it will bring to the FE system as a whole.

Consideration

The Request for Change will be considered using the assessment criteria by members of the information authority’s secretariat. In some cases, additional information may be needed from the change requester before a decision can be made.

At this stage, the decision is taken to either decline the request or to take it forward for consultation with stakeholders in the FE system. Changes judged not to have met the criteria will be declined. The change requestors will be informed of decisions and the reasons for them. The change requestor may come back to the secretariat for further discussions if they wish to appeal this decision. 

Review Group

Representatives from the organisations who have submitted proposals to the information authority will present the rationale for their change request to a review group of stakeholders from the FE system. This will enable stakeholder groups to hear about the proposed changes and raise any potential issues that may arise from implementing the change requests.

The review group meeting will take place in early July.

Consultation

A Request for Change that meets the assessment criteria will progress through to a consultation phase. The purpose of consultation is to enable stakeholders to help develop the best solutions for each proposal, and identify any areas of concern. Consultation will take place using a variety of methods: 

• Meetings of the information authority’s advisory groups 
• Online consultation via the information authority's community portal, feconnect
• Meetings with colleagues from the Data Service and the LSC (and successor bodies) to assess the potential impact on data collection and processing systems.

The consultation phase runs until the end of August.

Reconsideration

The information authority secretariat will reconsider the Request for Change, taking into account the responses received during the consultation. The assessment criteria used to make the initial decision will be used again, and if the change no longer meets the criteria, then it will be declined. The change requestors will be informed of the decision and the reasons for it. Again, the change requestor has the right to appeal theis decision. 

If the Request for Change meets the assessment criteria and no issues are raised through the consultation phase, there is no guarantee that the request will be approved. The process is designed to filter the requests so that the ones that go to the information authority board for consideration have been fully worked through.

Board meeting

The information authority’s secretariat prepares a paper that makes a recommendation for the board to consider for each Request for Change. Each change requestor will have been informed of what this recommendation is in the previous stages of the change process. The board will be asked to identify any recommendations that they disagree prior to the board meeting. This will give the change requestors an opportunity to clarify any queries ahead of the board meeting.

The board will meet in late September/ early October to determine which change requests are approved.

Publication

The information authority secretariat publishes a brief overview of the outcomes of the board's decisions shortly after the board meeting. The ILR Specification will then be published in November. 

Further information

If you have any queries, please contact the Community and Stakeholder Team at cst@theia.org.uk or 024 7682 5868.