Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether an impact assessment of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between his Department, NHS Digital and the Home Office on sharing patient information has been undertaken; what consultation process his Department carried out on that MOU; and if he will make a statement.

The Memorandum of Understanding is a document for internal governance assurance purposes between the Home Office, the Department of Health and NHS Digital. Therefore, the Department worked closely with NHS Digital and the Home Office, with due regard to the public sector equality duty under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, to establish a protocol for requests to locate illegal migrants who have lost touch with the Home Office.