Make Unique Property Reference Numbers mandatory in every single address-related dataset

One of the biggest problems we have seen throughout this crisis is that the various datasets that we need to interrogate and analyse have little in the way of standards or interoperability. Therefore, the task of using data to inform decision making has been massively complicated and inefficient. One of the quickest ways to improve this is to mandate the use of Unique Property Reference Numbers in every single public sector dataset. You could even begin to extend this to Unique Customer Reference Numbers and Unique Street Reference Numbers. Suddenly, the masses of data could be instantly joined together, making all of it more usable and allowing us to make quick and informed decisions.

Without good, accurate and usable data, we are always going to be wasting time and making uninformed decisions. My proposal is relatively easy to implement and would make huge improvements to how we make decisions in very little time.