Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what are the Health Data Research UK projects that access NHS data where specific project independent review was not received from NHS England's Advisory Group for Data, and what is the current status of those projects.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has a Data Sharing Agreement, project identification code DARS-NIC-381078-Y9C5K, with a consortium of academic organisations in the United Kingdom for the purpose of the Health Data Research UK-led, British Heart Foundation Data Science Centre’s CVD-COVID-UK programme.
This agreement was put in place by NHS Digital prior to its merger with NHS England in 2023, and prior to the establishment of NHS England’s Advisory Group for Data (AGD). The AGD was informed of a Senior Information Risk Owner decision to approve an amendment to the agreement on 22 February 2024.
The agreement was subject to reviews by NHS Digital’s Independent Group Advising on the Release of Data (IGARD) on 25 June 2020, 23 July 2020, 15 October 2020, 3 December 2020, 25 February 2021, 29 July 2021, 29 July 2021, 5 May 2022, and 24 November 2022. It was also subject to advice from the Professional Advisory Group on 24 June 2020 and 28 July 2021.
The agreement allowed the data controllers under that agreement to approve access to National Health Service data for individual projects, subject to approval per project by the CVD-COVID-UK oversight committee, which included a representative of NHS Digital/NHS England. Individual projects were not reviewed by IGARD or the AGD.
Under the terms of the agreement, the CVD-COVID-UK oversight committee is required to maintain a list of projects undertaken under the agreement and provide a quarterly report to NHS Digital/NHS England. The following table lists the projects and their current status from the latest report provided in April 2025:
Secure Data Environment research project reference | Current project status | Project title |
CCU001 | Live - Data in Use | Investigating the effects of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers on COVID-19 outcomes |
CCU002 | Live - Data in Use | SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination and the risk of vascular events |
CCU003 | Live - Data in Use | Direct and indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in individuals with cardiovascular disease (CVD) |
CCU004 | Live - Data in Use | COVID-19 and CVD risk prediction |
CCU005 | Live - Data in Use | Data management and analysis methods |
CCU007 | Live - Data in Use | Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on heart disease patients undergoing cardiac surgery |
CCU008 | Completed | Evaluating impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the prevalence and management of risk factors |
CCU010 | Live - Data in Use | In people with CVD and COVID-19, what is the influence of multi-morbidity on risk of poorer outcomes? |
CCU013 | Live - Data in Use | High-throughput electronic health record phenotyping approaches |
CCU014 | Live - Data in Use | Assessing the impact of COVID-19 on clinical pathways using a medicines approach |
CCU018 | Live - Data in Use | COVID-19 infection during pregnancy on CVD and related risk factors |
CCU019 | Live - Data in Use | Identification and personalised risk prediction for severe COVID-19 in patients with rare disorders impacting cardiovascular health |
CCU020 | Completed | Evaluation of antithrombotic use and COVID-19 outcomes |
CCU022 | Live - Data in Use | Genomics of multimorbidity and CVD associated with susceptibility to COVID-19 infection and complications |
CCU023 | Live - Data in Use | Repurposing medicines used to treat CVD risk to prevent COVID-19 |
CCU024 | Completed | CovPall-Connect. Evaluation of how palliative and end of life care teams have responded to COVID-19: Connecting to boost impact and data assets |
CCU028 | Live - Data in Use | Coronary revascularisation and outcomes before and after the COVID-19 pandemic |
CCU029 | Live - Data in Use | Child hospital admission with COVID-19: risk factors; risk groups; and NHS care utilisation |
CCU030 | Live - Data in Use | Examining potential factors underlying the increased risk of severe COVID-19 experienced by people with intellectual and developmental disabilities |
CCU032 | Live - Data in Use | The effects of COVID-19 on heart failure subtypes |
CCU035 | Completed | Are people with COVID-19 and pre-existing respiratory disease at a higher risk of future cardiovascular and venous thromboembolic events compared with COVID-19 patients without pre-existing respiratory disease? |
CCU036 | Live - Data in Use | The impact of previous exposure to COVID-19 and the safety of COVID-19 vaccination for fertility and pregnancy outcomes |
CCU037 | Live - Data in Use | Improving methods to minimise bias in ethnicity data for more representative and generalisable models, using CVD in COVID-19 as an example |
CCU038 | Live - Data in Use | Evaluating the impact of COVID-19 on critical care outcomes |
CCU040 | Completed | Investigating why some people with diabetes have a greater risk of becoming seriously unwell or dying with COVID-19 |
CCU043 | Live - Data in Use | Investigating new onset diabetes following COVID-19 infection |
CCU045 | Live - Data in Use | The impact of COVID-19 on heart failure epidemiology, quality of care and outcomes across primary and secondary care |
CCU046 | Live - Data in Use | Severe mental illness and receipt of acute cardiac care and mortality following myocardial infarction |
CCU049 | Live - Data in Use | Healthcare utilisation in individuals with Long COVID |
CCU051 | Completed | Un-vaccination and under-vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 in the UK |
CCU052 | Live - Data in Use | An observational retrospective cohort study describing the changing epidemiology pre, during and post COVID-19 of asthma, interstitial lung disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in England |
CCU053 | Live - Data in Use | Risks and benefits of treatment with SGLT2 inhibitors and the impact of intercurrent illness with COVID-19 |
CCU056 | Completed | Socio-demographic make-up of patients undergoing surgical and transcatheter aortic valve intervention in England and the impact of COVID-19 on this |
CCU057 | Live - Data in Use | Risks for mortality in people with severe mental illnesses during the COVID-19 pandemic |
CCU058 | Live - Data in Use | COVID-19 impact on the long-term outcomes of Improving Access to Psychological Therapies in people with long-term cardiovascular conditions |
CCU059 | Completed | Which combinations of multiple long-term conditions are associated with the greatest risk of hospital admission over the winter season, and to what extent does COVID-19 or influenza vaccination modify this risk? |
CCU060 | Live - Data in Use | Improving characterisation, prediction and intervention for COVID-19 and influenza-related morbidity and mortality |
CCU063 | Live - Data in Use | The effect of COVID-19 on maternal and paediatric health among individuals whose first language isn’t English and require an interpreter in England: from preconception to adolescence |
CCU064 | Live - Data in Use | Impact of COVID-19 clinical care pathway changes on gestational diabetes incidence and pregnancy outcomes in England |
CCU066 | Live - Data in Use | Changes in acute cardiac care of patients with reduced kidney function during the COVID-19 pandemic |
CCU068 | Completed | The impact of vaccination on the excess clinical risks of COVID-19 in patients with congenital heart disease |
CCU069 | Live - Data in Use | RARE-CVD-COVID: To understand COVID-19 impact on intersectional disparity in rare versus common cardiometabolic diseases: CVD and metabolic diseases, including diabetes |
CCU070 | Live - Data in Use | Supporting novel trial designs using healthcare systems data to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on diabetes research |
CCU071 | Live - Data in Use | A regional approach for policy makers to tackle health inequalities in CVD and its risk factors |
CCU072 | Live - Data in Use | Influence of COVID-19 on British burden of CVD |
CCU073 | Live - Data in Use | Impact of COVID-19 on the association between Type 2 diabetes and incidence of CVD |
CCU074 | Live - Data in Use | Improving the accuracy, equity and efficiency of using healthcare systems data for recruitment to a clinical trial involving people with CVD and diabetes mellitus: a simulation study in the “Covid era” using the CVD‑COVID‑UK dataset |
CCU075 | Live - Data in Use | Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on corticosteroid use and side effects in Takayasu arteritis and ANCA-associated vasculitis in England |
CCU076 | Live - Data in Use | The effect of COVID-19 infection on cardiovascular outcomes: an interaction analysis with environmental exposure |
CCU077 | Live - Data in Use | Risk assessment and long-term outcomes of acute coronary syndrome management strategy in cardio-oncology patients before and after the COVID-19 era |
CCU078 | On hold | Foresight: a generative artificial intelligence model of patient trajectories across the COVID-19 pandemic |
CCU079 | Live - Data in Use | Investigating the diagnoses of conditions among children in England following SARS-CoV-2 infections compared to general respiratory infections |
CCU080 | Live - Data in Use | Impact of COVID-19 on the use of cardiovascular imaging |
CCU081 | Live - Data in Use | Investigating the impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular and thromboembolic events in idiopathic inflammatory myopathies and the incidence of connective tissue diseases |
CCU082 | Live - Data in Use | Pulmonary arterial hypertension in repaired congenital heart disease: impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on prevalence; late diagnosis; and outcomes |
CCU083 | Live - Data in Use | Trends in choice of management strategy for NSTE-ACS among patients with previous bypass surgery before and after the COVID-19 pandemic |
CCU084 | Live - Data in Use | Impact of COVID-19 on stroke incidence, severity, aetiology, management, and outcome in younger versus older individuals in England |
CCU085 | Live - Data in Use | STROKE-IMPACT: What are the long-term consequences of stroke on the patient and to the NHS, and how does COVID-19 contribute to variation? |
CCU086 | Live - Data in Use | A data landscape review of datasets used in the surveillance of neurological complications of COVID-19 |
CCU087 | Live - Data in Use | The impact of COVID-19 on heart failure outcomes: the moderation roles of diabetes and obesity |
CCU088 | Live - Data in Use | The impact of COVID-19 on the management of iron deficiency, with or without anaemia, in primary and secondary care |
CCU089 | Live - Data in Use | The impact of comorbidity, socioeconomic status, and ethnicity on waiting times for surgery before and after the COVID-19 pandemic |
CCU090 | Live - Data in Use | The impact of cardiac rehabilitation following transcatheter aortic valve implantation before and after the COVID-19 pandemic |
CCU092 | Live - Data in Use | Simulation modelling of CVD development and management, identifying the extent to which COVID-19 has impacted on the assessment and treatment of CVD. |
CCU093 | Live - Data in Use | Understanding the relationship between diabetes and the development of multiple long-term conditions in England, Scotland, and Wales during and after the COVID-19 pandemic |
CCU094 | Live - Data in Use | Identifying preventative opportunities for coronary heart disease and stroke in multi-ethnic patients with non-cardiovascular conditions including COVID-19 |
CCU095 | Live - Data in Use | Quantifying and mitigating bias and health inequalities induced by clinical risk models predicting COVID-19-related risks of people with CVD and diabetes. |
CCU096 | Live - Data in Use | Impact of COVID-19 on obesity and risks of cardio-renal-metabolic outcomes |
CCU097 | Live - Data in Use | Drivers, consequences and the COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on severe hyperglycaemia at type 2 diabetes diagnosis |
CCU100 | Live - Data in Use | Impact of COVID-19 on fatty liver disease and cardiovascular outcomes in England, across ethnicities and social deprivation |
CCU101 | Live - Data in Use | Lung-Pal-Equity: To identify patterns in use of hospital services in the last year of life for those with advanced lung disease and to examine inequalities by socio-economic group, including before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic |
The status of project CCU078 has been updated to reflect that NHS England paused the project on 29 May. Further detail on the projects is published on the British Heart Foundation Data Science Centre’s website.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has considered appointing a clinical director for vascular and venous disease.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England and the Department are strongly supportive of clinical leadership and recognise the critical need to incorporate clinical expertise into our work. National clinical roles are a key part of this approach, and play an important role in policy development and implementation.
We are currently scoping the programme to bring NHS England into the Department, to form a new joint centre which will deliver better value for taxpayers’ money, and a better service for patients. As part of this process, we are carefully considering the future role of national clinical roles. While no specific decisions have been made yet regarding their scope and responsibilities within the new organisation, their expertise and leadership will continue to be pivotal in shaping the future of healthcare in our country.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of trends in the number of amputations for vascular and venous disease; and what discussions he has had with experts in this area on taking steps to reduce the number of amputations.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan, once published, will set out the Government's overarching vision for delivering the critical shift from a focus on treating illness to preventing conditions. Disease prevention is crucial in reducing the number of amputations arising from vascular and venous disease.
NHS England has implemented a range of initiatives aimed at improving the prevention and early diagnosis of conditions which increase the risk of needing lower-limb amputations. These include NHS Health Checks, for early detection of cardiovascular disease, the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme, and expanding community diagnostic centres to improve early detection.
NHS England commissions the National Vascular Registry (NVR) to provide information on the quality and outcomes of care for adults who have major vascular procedures. The NVR provides annual and quarterly reports for emergency and elective vascular procedures, including for those people with peripheral arterial disease who undergo either a lower limb angioplasty/stent, a lower limb bypass surgery, or a major lower limb amputation. From Quarter 1 of 2022 to Quarter 4 of 2024, NVR data demonstrated that vascular providers achieving the Commissioning for Quality and Innovation framework had increased from 47% to 55%. During this period, the number of providers submitting data to the NVR had increased by approximately 14%, and every National Health Service region showed an improvement in chronic limb threatening ischemia revascularisation quality.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
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 to help increase (a) public and (b) medical education on vascular and venous disease; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of doing so on levels of early diagnosis.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Vascular and venous disease are often associated with risk factors, such as raised cholesterol, obesity, and raised blood pressure.
The Department’s Better Health campaigns and resources include free evidence-based apps and tools to support people to make and sustain changes to improve their health, including the NHS Weight Loss app, the Food Scanner App, Couch to 5K, and Active 10.
In addition, a national multi-media campaign to help people to stop smoking ran between December 2024 and March 2025, and a campaign to encourage people to check their blood pressure with their local pharmacy ran in March 2024. Campaigns such as these have helped raised awareness of risk factors.
The evidence of the impact of both public and medical education is well established, and the Department will continue to look to the evidence to inform future policy decisions.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data her Department holds on the number of cases of (a) vascular and (b) venous disease.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
Cardiovascular disease affects approximately seven million people in the United Kingdom, and is a significant cause of disability and death. Further information is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/clinical-policy/cvd/
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he will answer the letter of 23rd June 2020 from the All Party Parliamentary Group on Vascular and Venous Disease on the effect of the Covid-19 outbreak on people with vascular disease.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
I replied to the hon. Member’s letter on 28 September 2020.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Vascular and Venous Disease entitled Saving Limbs, Saving Lives: A Call to Action to Reduce Inequalities in Lower Limb Amputation Rates, what steps he will take to address disparities in amputation rates throughout the UK.
Answered by Seema Kennedy
The specialised commissioning Clinical Reference Group (CRG) for Vascular Disease, together with NHS Improvement’s Getting it Right First Time (GIRFT) team, aims to address many of the issues raised in the report. There is a joint NHS England and GIRFT Board for the ‘Action on Vascular’ work, which is focusing on the early availability of treatments to increase lower limb circulation and reduce amputation rates.
The NHS Long Term Plan published on 7 January commits to ensuring that hospitals provide patients with access to multi-disciplinary footcare teams and inpatient specialist nursing teams, in order to improve recovery and reduce lengths of stay and future readmissions. This commitment will support reducing inequalities by giving universal access to multi-disciplinary footcare teams and diabetes inpatient specialist nurses.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the conclusions of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Vascular and Venous Disease report entitled Saving Limbs, Saving Lives: A Call to Action to Reduce Inequalities in Lower Limb Amputation Rates; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Seema Kennedy
The specialised commissioning Clinical Reference Group (CRG) for Vascular Disease, together with NHS Improvement’s Getting it Right First Time (GIRFT) team, aims to address many of the issues raised in the report. There is a joint NHS England and GIRFT Board for the ‘Action on Vascular’ work, which is focusing on the early availability of treatments to increase lower limb circulation and reduce amputation rates.
The NHS Long Term Plan published on 7 January commits to ensuring that hospitals provide patients with access to multi-disciplinary footcare teams and inpatient specialist nursing teams, in order to improve recovery and reduce lengths of stay and future readmissions. This commitment will support reducing inequalities by giving universal access to multi-disciplinary footcare teams and diabetes inpatient specialist nurses.