Transparency data

Minutes of the National Data Guardian Panel Meeting, 18 March 2025

Published 28 July 2025

Applies to England

1. Attendees

1.1 Panel members

• Dr Nicola Byrne (chair)
• Dr Natalie Banner
• John Carvel
• Claire Delaney-Pope
• Dr George Fernie
• Dame Moira Gibb
• Dr Fiona Head
• Maisie McKenzie
• Professor Daniel Ray
• David Sharp
• Rob Shaw
• Jenny Westaway
• Professor James Wilson

1.2 Guests

• Michael Chapman - NHS England
• Jackie Gray - NHS England
• Laura Bellingham - NHS England
• Roland Potts - Office for National Statistics
• Sam Haskell - Department of Health and Social Care

1.3 Office of the National Data Guardian team

• Dr Vicky Chico
• Layla Heyes
• Rachael Merrison
• Karen Swift

1.4 Observer

Helen Dyer – Vice-chair UKCGC

2. 1. Welcome, apologies, and declarations of interest

National Data Guardian (NDG), Dr Nicola Byrne, chaired the meeting.

• Apologies were received from Dr Arjun Dhillon, Mr Adrian Marchbank and Dr Jess Morley.

• Dr George Fernie, new Chair of the UK Caldicott Guardian Council (UKCGC), is now a full member of the NDG’s panel.

• Helen Dyer, new vice-chair of the UKCGC, attended as an observer.

• The NDG confirmed that this was Dame Moira Gibb’s final panel meeting. The NDG thanked her for the invaluable support and guidance she provided during her time on the NDG’s panel.

• David Sharp has joined the NDG’s Panel. David introduced himself and provided a brief background of his career.

• Panel members Jenny Westaway and Claire Delaney-Pope declared an interest regarding Item 4. Both Jenny and Claire are members of the Advisory Group for Data (AGD). The chair and panel agreed it was acceptable for them to participate in the discussion and remain in the meeting during the item.

• There were no other potential conflicts of interest declared.

3. 2. Minutes from previous meeting, actions, and decisions

Panel members accepted the minutes from its 12 November 2024 meeting. All actions were agreed to have been completed before this meeting.

4. 3. Key updates

Dr Vicky Chico led the key updates, summarising key Office of the National Data Guardian (ONDG) activities since the last panel. The NDG and panel members also contributed.

4.1 3.1. Reasonable Expectations research project

Dr Vicky Chico provided an update to the panel on the progress of the Reasonable Expectations project. Work is ongoing to redraft some sections of the report. To give the supplier, Thinks Insight & Strategy, sufficient time to complete the analysis and write up the report, the contract end date has been extended.

4.2 3.2. Reflective practice as part of direct care

Dr Vicky Chico provided a further update on the draft NDG guidance, which positions reflective practice as an integral activity in the delivery of safe, high-quality care (previously discussed at panel meetings). Dr Vicky Chico and Layla Heyes are working with NHS England’s (NHSE) IG policy engagement team to produce guidance on the NDG’s reflective practice position. Once finalised, the guidance will be published on NHSE’s Information Governance portal.

4.3 3.3. DHSC/NHSE large-scale public engagement

Jenny Westaway, NDG panel member, provided an update on the Department of Health and Social Care’s (DHSC) large-scale public engagement programme, which began a year ago.

The report on the first phase (Cohort 1), focusing on the principles of data use and access, will be published soon.

The report of the second phase (Cohort 2), which explored the proposal for a single patient record and secondary uses of primary care data, is currently under review by the Steering Group.

The third phase (Cohort 3) deliberations were currently taking place to address the issue of opt-outs. The NDG has recorded a ‘fireside chat’ on this topic, which will be shared with workshop participants.

4.4 3.4. Information sharing with police guidance

Dr. Vicky Chico updated the panel on the ‘Information Sharing with Police’ guidance. Vicky confirmed that, after receiving input from the General Medical Council, the guidance has now been finalised by NHSE’s Health and Care Working Group. Vicky confirmed that the police have been informed of the changes. The updated guidance will be published on NHSE’s Information Governance portal in the coming weeks.

4.5 3.5. Government announcement regarding NHS England

The NDG discussed the recent government announcement that NHSE will be integrated into the DHSC. The NDG updated the panel on her current understanding of the implications of this for recruitment and the challenges posed by current staffing levels in the office.

5. 4. Oversight of decisions regarding health and care data access by the Office for National Statistics

Representatives from NHSE, Office for National Statistics (ONS), and the DHSC attended a panel to discuss the oversight of decisions related to health and care data access by the ONS.

The panel discussed the key points from the presentation and identified some areas that require further consideration. There was broad recognition that the ONS evaluates the benefits of data access from a wider ‘public good’ perspective than NHSE’s focus on health and care benefits.

Panel members emphasised the importance of ongoing assurance regarding the balance between health and care benefits, economic benefits, and the wider public interest. Panel members believed that this approach would be crucial to maintaining public trust in the use of health and care data by the ONS.

The panel welcomed the ONS’s suggestions to expand the membership of the Research Accreditation Panel (RAP) to include additional health and care expertise. However, the panel noted that the RAP does not include lay membership and discussed how to ensure sufficient public perspectives are integrated into decisions about access to health and care data.

Panel members also stressed the importance of transparency measures. They acknowledged that ONS already makes information about its data usage publicly available. The panel emphasised that this information must be continually updated as the ONS’s use of health and care data evolves, in a way that demonstrates to the public, patients, NHS frontline staff, and commissioners how the linkage of health and non-health data is delivering public benefits.

The NDG and the panel expressed their gratitude for the team’s engagement on this matter, asking that they stay in touch as their plans progress to support the government’s goals for improved use of public sector data.

6. 5. Any other business

No further points were raised.