Every parliamentary written question tabled by Ian Byrne this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 1–20 of 60 · Department of Health and Social Care
What assessment his Department has made of the prevalence of corridor care in NHS hospital trusts serving Merseyside; and what support is being provided to those trusts to reduce the use of inappropriate temporary care environments.
Awaiting answer.
When his Department expects NHS England to publish reliable national data on the number of patients receiving care in corridors, waiting rooms, ambulance queues and other temporary care environments; and whether that data will be published at trust level.
Awaiting answer.
What steps his Department is taking to ensure that commitments to end corridor care are supported by sufficient NHS bed capacity, safe staffing levels, ambulance handover improvements, social care capacity and community health services.
Awaiting answer.
What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of funding made available for Continuing Professional Development for social workers employed by the NHS.
Awaiting answer.
What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact on health inequality of the Plan B put to the GP Committee.
We recognise that the British Medical Association (BMA) may choose to ballot its members on a range of issues. Such ballots are a matter for the organisation and do not in themselves determine Government policy. The National Health Service, including gene...
Whether his Department is considering changes to miscarriage care pathways, including earlier access to investigations and support for people who experience miscarriage.
Awaiting answer.
What assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of a) the vote by the BMA GP Committee in favour of the GP Committee for England to explore an alternative strategy for general prac
We recognise that the British Medical Association (BMA) may choose to ballot its members on a range of issues. Such ballots are a matter for the organisation and do not in themselves determine Government policy. The National Health Service, including gene...
What discussions (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have had with Tommy’s on the potential wider rollout of its Graded Model of Miscarriage Care.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Women’s Health and Mental Health (Baroness Merron) has previously met with Tommy’s regarding the Graded Model of Miscarriage Care, and officials have recently met with the charity to discuss its report and pi...
What role Senior Information Risk Owners and Caldicott Guardians play in overseeing data governance for the Federated Data Platform (FDP) within Integrated Care Boards and NHS trusts; and whether those roles are held by executive board members.
Every integrated care board and National Health Service trust board, who are data controllers for data held within their own individual instance of the NHS Federated Data Platform, has responsibility for data governance and managing risk.Integrated care boards in the NHS are mandated to appoint both a senior information risk officer and a Caldicott Guardian. These roles are essential for ensuring compliance with patient data confidentiality, information governance, and the secure handling of information within the organisation.Information on whether or not Caldicott Guardians are Executive Board members is not held centrally.
Whether his Department carried out an equalities impact assessment of the Federated Data Platform (FDP) (a) prior to its rollout and (b) at any point since.
The NHS Federated Data Platform (NHS FDP) is a data platform rather than a clinical service in itself. NHS England does not require an Equality and Health Inequalities Impact Assessment (EHIA) by default for data platforms. As such, a determination was made in line with NHS England guidance that the NHS FDP did not meet the requirements for an EHIA.
What metrics are being used to measure the success of the Palantir-powered Federated Data Platform (FDP); and whether any productivity gains or improvements to patient care have been attributed to the FDP thus far, as opposed to any other intervention.
During product development, the NHS Federated Data Platform (NHS FDP) team identified relevant usage and benefits measures for each specific product. These measures are related to the problem statement the product was designed to address and are co-developed with users.Once a product has completed development and testing and becomes generally available, data on the usage and benefits measures at an aggregate level, across all organisations nationally, are published on the NHS FDP website. Over time, further products will become generally available on the NHS FDP, supporting the National Health Service areas of elective care, urgent and emergency care, cancer and diagnostics, operational management, and population health and neighbourhood care.Information on the benefits derived from the NHS FDP is published each quarter by NHS England and is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/digitaltechnology/nhs-federated-data-platform/impact/fdp-uptake-and-benefits/In addition to the quantitative benefits, information from organisations on the benefits they are seeing from the NHS FDP from a qualitative perspective is collected in the form of case studies available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/digitaltechnology/nhs-federated-data-platform/impact/case-studies/
What assessment his Department has made of concerns raised by the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee regarding the outsourcing of NHS data infrastructure to a single overseas technology provider; and what steps have been taken to mitigate systemic data security risks arising from that arrangement.
Data infrastructure in the National Health Service is not outsourced to a single provider, as the NHS makes use of a variety of technology providers, including hyper-scalers. Contracts include specific provisions to ensure the security of personal data.
What assessment he has made of the potential impact of Palantir’s role supporting Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the US on the confidence of NHS patients to divulge medical information.
The NHS Federated Data Platform (NHS FDP) holds no information on the immigration or residency status of patients. NHS England has published extensive information on the NHS FDP, its contractual safeguards, and how it is designed solely for medical purposes. There is a web portal where people can find out more information about the NHS FDP and ask questions.
To give a detailed description of how procurement of the contract for the Federated Data Platform (FDP), after the current contract ending date of 15/02/2027, will proceed, including timeline, whether the incumbent contract holder Palantir is considered to be a preferred bidder, whether the NHS has a break clause in this contract with Palantir, whether the NHS is able to renew the contract automatically without hearing any competing bids, and any other relevant information relating to the terms of the contract.
The current contract for the NHS Federated Data Platform is for seven years, ending in 2030, with break clauses at three years, two years, and one year. No decisions have been made about any procurement after then end of the contract. The contact is published at the following link: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/notice/2e8c61c0-faab-4f99-ae69-b00df6bae165?origin=SearchResults&p=1
Whether a standardised definition of an information governance breach applies across all NHS trusts and Integrated Care Boards in relation to the Federated Data Platform (FDP); what criteria are used to classify breaches as serious or major; and who is responsible for determining that classification.
The Information Governance Framework for the NHS Federated Data Platform (NHS FDP) is published at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/federated-data-platform-information-governance-framework/Data breaches are determined in line with the guidance from the Information Commissioner’s Office. In the event of an actual or suspected security breach or data loss incident (incident) in any instance of the NHS FDP or NHS Privacy Enhancing Technology (NHS-PET), any party who becomes aware of the incident will notify NHS England.In the case of the platform contractor, such a notification will be made in accordance with its obligations under clause 20, which is regarding authority data and security requirements, clause 23, regarding protection of personal data, and/or Schedule 2.4, regarding security management, of the agreement, as well as clause 6 of the FDP Data Processing Agreement. In addition, in the case of the NHS-PET Contractor, such a notification will be made in accordance with its obligations under clause 17, regarding protection of personal data, Schedule 3, regarding cyber security and information governance, of the Contract, and/or clause 6 of the NHS-PET Data Processing Agreement.The NHS FDP contractor will notify NHS England of all incidents. The NHS FDP Contractor and user organisations will co-operate with NHS England’s service bridge, cyber, security, data protection, and incident management teams in the investigation, management, mitigation, rectification, restoration, and resolution of the incident in accordance with the NHS FDP Incident Management Protocol.The relevant controller will report any personal data breach to the Information Commissioner’s Office in line with its responsibilities under UK General Data Protection Regulation.NHS England and the NHS FDP contractors will co-operate with the local NHS FDP user organisation’s cyber, security, data protection, and incident management teams in the investigation, management, mitigation, rectification, restoration, and resolution of the incident in accordance with the NHS FDP Incident Management Protocol.Brief details of all personal data breaches, including their root cause, will be reported by NHS England, the NHS FDP contractor, or the local NHS FDP user organisation, depending on who the controller and processor is in relation to the personal data breach, to the Data Governance Group. Each party will co-operate with the other impacted parties in the production of the reports.
What contractual safeguards and sanctions are contained within the Federated Data Platform (FDP) agreement to address any breach of data protection obligations by the contracted technology provider or any subcontractor; and what mechanisms exist for independent external scrutiny of compliance.
The NHS Federated Data Platform (NHS FDP) is built with robust security and privacy controls to ensure that access to National Health Service data is tightly governed and independently auditable.The NHS FDP Information Governance Framework clearly lays out the roles and responsibilities relating to breach notification and management, defining organisations’ responsibilities in this area.All user activity within the NHS FDP environment is logged for auditing purposes. These logs are monitored by both the suppliers platform team and the NHS Cyber Security Operations Centre to detect and respond to any malicious activity.The NHS FDP contract includes audit provisions that allow NHS England to validate and confirm that contractual requirements are being met. These rights of audit are standard within NHS commercial agreements and provide assurance that the platform operates in accordance with NHS England’s expectations and legal obligations, including compliance with UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018.
What assurance mechanisms are in place to safeguard patient-identifiable data within the Federated Data Platform (FDP) operating across NHS trusts and the Integrated Care Board in Cheshire and Merseyside; and what independent audit or verification processes are undertaken to ensure compliance with UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.
The NHS Federated Data Platform (NHS FDP) is built with robust security and privacy controls to ensure that access to National Health Service data is tightly governed and independently auditable.The NHS FDP Information Governance Framework clearly lays out the roles and responsibilities relating to breach notification and management, defining organisations’ responsibilities in this area.All user activity within the NHS FDP environment is logged for auditing purposes. These logs are monitored by both the suppliers platform team and the NHS Cyber Security Operations Centre to detect and respond to any malicious activity.The NHS FDP contract includes audit provisions that allow NHS England to validate and confirm that contractual requirements are being met. These rights of audit are standard within NHS commercial agreements and provide assurance that the platform operates in accordance with NHS England’s expectations and legal obligations, including compliance with UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018.
What statutory and contractual reporting requirements apply where an information governance breach relating to the Federated Data Platform (FDP) occurs; what oversight arrangements ensure compliance with the 72-hour reporting requirement to the Information Commissioner’s Office; and what action is taken if that requirement is not met.
The Information Governance Framework for the NHS Federated Data Platform (NHS FDP) is published at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/federated-data-platform-information-governance-framework/Data breaches are determined in line with the guidance from the Information Commissioner’s Office. In the event of an actual or suspected security breach or data loss incident (incident) in any instance of the NHS FDP or NHS Privacy Enhancing Technology (NHS-PET), any party who becomes aware of the incident will notify NHS England.In the case of the platform contractor, such a notification will be made in accordance with its obligations under clause 20, which is regarding authority data and security requirements, clause 23, regarding protection of personal data, and/or Schedule 2.4, regarding security management, of the agreement, as well as clause 6 of the FDP Data Processing Agreement. In addition, in the case of the NHS-PET Contractor, such a notification will be made in accordance with its obligations under clause 17, regarding protection of personal data, Schedule 3, regarding cyber security and information governance, of the Contract, and/or clause 6 of the NHS-PET Data Processing Agreement.The NHS FDP contractor will notify NHS England of all incidents. The NHS FDP Contractor and user organisations will co-operate with NHS England’s service bridge, cyber, security, data protection, and incident management teams in the investigation, management, mitigation, rectification, restoration, and resolution of the incident in accordance with the NHS FDP Incident Management Protocol.The relevant controller will report any personal data breach to the Information Commissioner’s Office in line with its responsibilities under UK General Data Protection Regulation.NHS England and the NHS FDP contractors will co-operate with the local NHS FDP user organisation’s cyber, security, data protection, and incident management teams in the investigation, management, mitigation, rectification, restoration, and resolution of the incident in accordance with the NHS FDP Incident Management Protocol.Brief details of all personal data breaches, including their root cause, will be reported by NHS England, the NHS FDP contractor, or the local NHS FDP user organisation, depending on who the controller and processor is in relation to the personal data breach, to the Data Governance Group. Each party will co-operate with the other impacted parties in the production of the reports.
What indicators his department uses to assess the impact of access to adequate, nutritious, and culturally appropriate food on health outcomes; and whether he plans to publish a consolidated framework for measuring the role of nutrition in preventing diet-related illness.
The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) assess the level of food insecurity in the population. The FSA refers to the 1996 World Food Summit definition that “Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life”.The relationship between food insecurity, nutritional intake, and health in the UK is currently unclear. However, international evidence suggests that in the long-term, food insecurity may be associated with poorer diets and poorer health, including higher risk of overweight and obesity.The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) provides independent scientific advice and risk assessments on nutrition and related health issues. The SACN’s remit includes matters concerning nutrient content of individual foods, advice on diet, and the nutritional status of the UK population. The SACN undertakes robust risk assessments and provides dietary recommendations.The Government’s food strategy for England aims to achieve more affordable, accessible and healthier food for everyone, particularly for those on low incomes. We will set out more detail as the work progresses.
Whether the forthcoming National Cancer Plan for England will include (a) targets to improve the early diagnosis of (i) myeloma and (ii) other blood cancers, and steps to (b) reduce the number of GP visits prior to diagnosis and (c) the proportion of patients diagnosed via emergency departments.
Early diagnosis is a key focus of the National Cancer Plan. It is a priority for the Government to support the National Health Service to diagnose cancer, including blood cancers, as early and quickly as possible, and to treat it faster, to improve outcomes.To tackle the late diagnoses of blood cancers, the NHS is implementing non-specific symptom pathways for patients who present with symptoms such as weight loss and fatigue, which do not clearly align to a tumour type. Blood cancers are one of the most common cancer types diagnosed through these pathways.We will get the NHS diagnosing blood cancers earlier and treating them faster, and we will support the NHS to increase capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services through investment, including for magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography scanners.The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, including speeding up diagnosis and treatment, ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, and driving up this country’s cancer survival rates. The Plan will be published in early 2026.