Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps with Versus Arthritis to improve the quality of data that his Department publishes on arthritis.

The Department of Health and Social Care will continue to work with Versus Arthritis as we consider how best to support people with musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions such as arthritis. Data on MSK health, including arthritis, is published on Fingertips, and is available at the following link:

https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/msk/data

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning services that meet the needs of their populations. To support this, the Department of Health and Social Care is delivering the Getting It Right First Time MSK Community Delivery Programme jointly with NHS England and the Department for Work and Pensions. With a £3.5 million funding boost as part of the programme, ICBs will assess their current MSK services and share examples of best practice, roll out innovative ways of working, as well as improving data on how services are performing.

The implementation of Secure Data Environments (SDEs), allowing National Health Service data to be accessed through secure platforms rather than shared with researchers, will support safer and more secure access to health and care data for secondary uses, such as research into prevalence and impact. This is being delivered through major investment in digital infrastructure across the NHS in England, including the NHS Research SDE Network, funded by the Data for Research and Development programme.

The Single Patient Record will also give clinicians in different settings access to comprehensive records on a person's health, so that they have the information they need to make the best-informed decisions when delivering care and treatment.