Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps she will take to protect public funded health data from data control from outside the UK during trade negotiations; and if she will make a statement.

In Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations, HM Government is seeking provisions that provide the right balance between removing barriers to the free flow of data, and not lowering the standard of protection afforded to the personal data of the British people – which includes health data.

Our data protection laws, enshrined in the Data Protection Act 2018 and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), remain unchanged. HM Government is clear that health and care data should only ever be shared if it is to be used lawfully, treated with respect and held securely, and only where the right safeguards are in place.