Health and Care Bill: adult social care provider information (data)
Updated 10 March 2022
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The Local Government Association (LGA) said:
We support the intention of gathering high quality data so long as the data collection is proportionate, the data sharing is purposeful, and its prime purpose is seen as supporting effective local commissioning and delivery of care. The data should be jointly owned by the sector, and should flow not just to the DHSC but also back to authorities, for them to understand and support their residents better, understand the impact of different interventions and support and be able to benchmark their own performance.
To this end, local government should be involved in discussions to agree what data is collected and how. Where the DHSC collects data directly from providers this should be shared with local government in support of councils’ market shaping duties.
This fact sheet explains how the government plans to use the information provision which confers a power on the Secretary of State to require social care providers regulated in England to submit information.
Background
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed challenges in pulling together data needed to effectively manage outbreaks and ensure that emerging risks and issues could be identified at all levels and appropriate action taken. This has highlighted the importance of having robust data flows and assurance in the adult social care sector to ensure that local and national government has the data and local intelligence it needs to provide oversight and national support where it is needed in the longer term.
Unlike the NHS, adult social care is not one national system. Many bodies currently collect information but there is little standardisation in how data are collated, shared and used. The current reliance on aggregate data collected by local authorities to publish official statistics means that many individuals privately funding care or receiving informal care have little or no contact with a local authority, therefore data from local authorities can only measure part of the picture. This data gap is significant and needs to be addressed to support delivery and improved outcomes for all those receiving care and support.
We need to make changes to the data collected and the frequency with which it is collected so that local authorities, providers, and consumers can access the data they need, while minimising the burden on providers.
We want high quality data, collected to high standards, that meets the needs of all users. Through technology and data strategies, and through the Data Alliance Partnership, we are working to ensure the most efficient methods of data collection and improvement in the interoperability of systems.
We will be working across the sector to develop a plan for provider data collection, that will support a consistent and transparent approach to the processing of data across privately and publicly funded care. This will include work to support providers to digitise and agree data architecture standards that will make data sharing between providers, local authorities, health bodies and national organisations easier and do more to reduce collection burdens.
What the Bill will do
The Health and Care Bill will introduce a new power for the Secretary of State to require regulated adult social care providers to provide information relating to themselves, their activities in connection with providing adult social care, or individuals they have provided adult social care to, whether funded by local authorities or privately by individuals, where the information is sought for purposes connected with the health or adult social care system in England.
Any necessary details around the information sharing requirements such as the form and manner in which information is to be provided and when it is to be provided, will be set out in writing.
This information would continue to be subject to restrictions under the Data Protection Act 2018, the UK GDPR and the common law duty of confidentiality, although the provision of the information to the department would not itself breach the common law duty of confidentiality. The information would also be subject to specific restrictions on disclosure within the Bill.
The Bill also provides a power for regulations to enable the Secretary of State to impose a financial penalty on private providers where they fail to comply with a requirement to provide information.
Information from the adult social care sector can be used to assist with evolving situations, like COVID-19, to plan for care provision, maintain oversight of the system, understand capacity and risk, judge when and how to target support and ultimately help facilitate the care of individuals.
The provision will help us fill data gaps, understand more about self-funders, and better manage emergency situations. It will support a consistent and transparent approach to the processing of data across privately and publicly funded care to support improved safety and quality of provision.
How these provisions will help to improve accountability
This provision will build on the stronger data sharing practices we have built during the pandemic where providers have shared data and information via the Capacity Tracker tool. This has highlighted the importance of having robust data flows in the adult social care sector to ensure that the right level of capacity and support is available for service continuity.
We aim to use this provision to remedy gaps in available data to help us understand capacity and risk in the system, and to better understand the system to inform future policy developments and ultimately help facilitate the care of individuals across the care system.
This provision will enable us to collect high quality and timely adut social care information that is transparent and appropriately accessible by all who need it, to support high quality commissioning, systems assurance, and the management of risks at local, regional and national levels. Sharing data back with providers will enable them to benchmark their activities with other providers and monitor trends.
In the longer-term, we aim to implement shared care records across local health and care systems so that people should only have to give their details once, including when moving between care and health settings and that information can be safely seen by everyone who is caring for them.
With more and better data, we can plan the future care of our population and will have the potential to generate significant health and care benefits such as increased independence, improved quality of care, higher patient satisfaction and more efficient use of funding. Improved data on the sector workforce can also benefit recruitment, retention and equality policies.
Further information
Department of Health and Social Care, Integration and innovation: working together to improve health and social care for all, February 2021
Department of Health and Social Care, Data saves lives: reshaping health and social care with data (draft), June 2021