On 18 June, President Edgars Rinkēvičs signed and submitted to the Presidium of the Saeima a draft law “Amendment to the State Administration Structure Law.” The proposal aims to establish a framework for the processing and reuse of data held by state and local government authorities within public administration. The goal is to improve policy planning and the quality of public services, as well as to foster research and innovation in public administration. The draft law designates the Central Statistical Bureau as a cross-sectoral data analytics authority, granting it the right to obtain and integrate data, including personal data, from other state and municipal institutions.
“The Latvian public sector possesses a significant amount of data – approximately 700 state information systems. This is a key resource for effective decision-making, concerning sectoral development and delivery of quality services. Policy planning and analysis often require the integration and analysis of data from various public information systems to obtain a more comprehensive and accurate understanding of the situation, trends, and challenges,” wrote President Edgars Rinkēvičs in his letter to the Presidium of the Saeima.
The institutions are permitted to process and use the data at their disposal solely for the purposes for which the data were initially obtained, and for purposes defined within the institution’s core functions. The existing legal framework does not allow for the integration of data across different sectors. Consequently, neither the data controller nor any other institution may reuse information already collected from residents and businesses to conduct research on the services provided, undertake in-depth analysis, or engage in sectoral policy planning.
“The need to utilise public data more effectively for in-depth policy analysis in order to improve performance was also highlighted by business representatives in the 2024 study on competitiveness and the business environment, conducted by the National Competitiveness Commission. Therefore, following an initiative from the National Competitiveness Commission, I see the opportunity to propose amendments to the State Administration Structure Law. These amendments introduce three new purposes for data processing: policy planning, improving service efficiency, and supporting research and innovation. The amendments also propose to strengthen the role of the Central Statistical Bureau as a ‘one-stop-shop’ for processing and integrating information contained in national information systems. This will not only promote the re-use of data in public administration and strengthen cross-sectoral data analytics in public administration, but will also contribute to reducing the administrative burden," states the letter of the President of Latvia to the Presidium of the Saeima.
The provisions of the draft law do not apply to, and do not change, the processing of special categories of personal data (“sensitive data”), the processing and access restrictions of which are governed by sector-specific legislation, including data relating to health and criminal records. Similarly, the draft law does not affect the exchange of information subject to access restrictions established by special laws.