Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take to increase (1) access to data controlled by the NHS, and (2) associated opportunities to innovate, for UK start-ups and SMEs (a) during, and (b) after, the COVID-19 pandemic.

To simplify access to data controlled by the National Health Service and encourage innovation partnerships, the Government is developing a policy framework underpinned by five guiding principles. This will offer support and guidance to NHS organisations that are considering entering into data access agreements with researchers and commercial partners.

The framework is expected to be published later this year and is being developed in consultation with patient representative groups, health and data experts, NHS bodies and industry. To support the NHS in embedding the framework in practice, the Government has set up a National Centre of Expertise in NHSX to provide commercial and legal expertise to NHS organisations on agreeing fair terms when negotiating partnerships.

The Government has also committed funding for the Digital Innovation Hubs Programme which aims to enable a United Kingdom-wide life sciences environment that provides responsible and safe access to rich, research-ready health data, technology and science, research and innovation services.