Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when and by whom the decision was made to continue to disseminate the data of those people who opted out of the commercial dissemination of hospital episode statistics.

No such decision has been made, with regards to personal confidential information.

NHS Digital, in accordance with section 122 of the Care Act 2014, only disseminates anonymised data where it will be for the purposes of the provision of health care or adult social care, or the promotion of health.