NHS: Computer Software

(asked on 20th May 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what criteria will be used to decide when to close the covid-19 datastore, how the closure of that datastore will be implemented; and what steps he plans to take to ensure that the private companies involved destroy or return data when that store is closed.


Answered by
Nadine Dorries Portrait
Nadine Dorries
This question was answered on 2nd June 2020

NHS England is the sole controller of data held within the National Health Service COVID-19 data store and for any data legally shared with them. The organisations contracted by NHS England to act as data processors have access to the data but can only process it under instruction from NHS England which is included in their contracts.

The data will only be retained within the NHS COVID-19 data store and processed for as long as it is required for the purposes of the response to COVID-19.

Any use of the data in the future for research in the public interest, for example, further work to understand the spread of infectious diseases, in order to strengthen our readiness to respond to a future event, or by the NHS for planning and delivering services, beyond the end of the COVID-19 pandemic will be subject to any approvals required under law.

Reticulating Splines