Recommendation 23

HM Government Not Addressed

We agree that cross-organisational working is more important than ever given the large number of organisations across health and social care and the nature and impact of COVID-19. As a result of the Government’s actions and those taken by our partners during the pandemic, several ways of accessing and sharing data have either been strengthened or established. Internal and public-facing central dashboards have been set up to show joined-up, UK wide data on a number of COVID-related metrics, ensuring analysts from within and outside government have access to the same key information on which to give advice and make decisions; and the Office for National Statistics (ONS), NHS Digital and the devolved administrations have built data assets within trusted research environments. We are building on these measures to ensure that health and social care organisations routinely share data, when it is appropriate to do so, for the benefit of the wider health and social care system. NHSX will shortly publish a draft Data Strategy for Health and Social Care to seek views on using the power of data to improve health and social care. The strategy will set out how we can build on the lessons of COVID-19 and include several measures to enable timely access to data for a range of purposes, subject to appropriate protections beyond the pandemic response. We have already established a Data Alliance Partnership comprising the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and several of its Arm’s Length Bodies (ALBs), which aims to make data accessible in a timely and efficient way for legitimate purposes and within existing legislation. In addition, we plan to make legislative changes which are intended to complement other measures to address structural, cultural, and behavioural challenges to the effective, secure and appropriate processing, use, and sharing of data to benefit individual care and the wider health and care system, and to inform coherent and consistent decision making. More information on our plans can be found in Integration and Innovation: working together to improve health and social care for all, published by the Department of Health and Social Care in February 2021 (para. 5.34). We will also work with the newly established Central Digital and Data Office in the Cabinet Office to ensure that any best practice that is developed from our work, particularly on the adoption of common data standards, is utilised and shared with other organizations. Dr Ben Goldacre has been asked to lead a review focusing on the more efficient and safe use of health data for research and analysis for the benefit of patients and the healthcare sector. This review is expected to publish its findings and recommendations in late spring 2021. The future structure of the health landscape is also changing, with the establishment of the UK Health Security Agency, the dissolution of Public Health England and the transfer of some of its functions to other bodies, including a stronger analytical presence within DHSC, which will deliver enhanced analytical capability and greater transparency. Throughout the pandemic, statisticians across the health and care sector have worked collaboratively to ensure the application of the Code of Practice for official statistics – and its three core pillars of trustworthiness, quality, and value. This has resulted in a significant increase in the statistics and insights published. Teams in DHSC, its ALBs, ONS and the devolved administrations have come together to create a joined up narrative, most notably on the public-facing coronavirus.gov.uk dashboard hosted by Public Health England, which has been a crucial part of the Government’s clear and transparent presentation of COVID metrics to the public, presenting clear visuals and UK-wide comparisons. Prior to the pandemic, ONS had brought statisticians together through an English Health Statistics Steering Group which was established to address a set of coherence and capability challenges. We recognise however that there is more to be done and so we have agreed that the Office for Statistics Regulation will carry out a lesson learned exercise from the pandemic, once the immediate challenges of pandemic response have passed, specifically focussed on the coherence across the health statistics landscape. We will consider the merits of conducting a broader review once the draft Data Strategy has been published, the work of the Data Alliance Partnership has had time to embed, we have the outcome of the review from Dr Ben Goldacre, the new organisations have been established, and the Office for Statistics Regulation have gathered lessons learned across the health statistical landscape.