Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent progress he has made on the roll-out of care.data.

On 6 October 2014, NHS England announced that general practitioner (GP)-led clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in four areas of the country would help develop the care.data programme as it moves into a ‘pathfinder stage’. It was announced that the programme would be rolled out in participating GP surgeries in the CCG areas of Leeds North, Leeds West and Leeds South and East (working together); Somerset; West Hampshire; and Blackburn with Darwen.

NHS England led engagements is ongoing with CCG teams in order to develop local project plans and governance arrangements. Positive locality meetings with GPs, practice staff and patient representatives took place in each of the CCG areas during October, November and December 2014.

An initial set of draft core GP and patient-facing materials have been developed taking into account the combined feedback gleaned throughout the care.data ‘listening period’ over the summer, such as from local and national events/meetings about the care.data programme and formal research with both members of the public and GPs/GP practice managers. These materials are being updated following review by CCGs, the care.data advisory group, and other stakeholders such as Healthwatch England and a range of national voluntary groups.

The Independent Information Governance Oversight Panel (IIGOP) Report to the care.data Programme Board on the care.data pathfinder stage was received by the Programme Board on 17 December 2014 and published via the IIGOP webpages. Tim Kelsey, Senior Responsible Owner and NHS England National Director for Patients and Information and the Programme Board responded by welcoming the observations and the insight it offers the programme.

It is envisaged that information will be collected from GP practices involved in the pathfinder stage in early 2015. However, this collection will only take place once the National Data Guardian, Dame Fiona Caldicott, is satisfied it is right and safe to do so. The care.data programme will only be rolled out more widely when the pathfinder stage has been evaluated by Dame Fiona Caldicott and the care.data Programme Board to ensure the approach being taken is the right one.