Personal information: Data Sharing Review

The Data Sharing Review, undertaken by Richard Thomas, Information Commissioner, and Mark Walport, Director of the Wellcome Trust, considered the use and sharing of personal data in the public and private sectors. The report, published in July 2008, includes a number of recommendations relating to the use and sharing of personal information for research and statistical analysis. These include:

Recommendation 15: 'Safe havens' should be developed as an environment for population-based research and statistical analysis in which the risk of identifying individuals is minimised; and furthermore we recommend that a system of approving or accrediting researchers who meet the relevant criteria to work within those safe havens is established. We think that implementation of this recommendation will require legislation, following the precedent of the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007. This will ensure that researchers working in 'safe havens' are bound by a strict code, preventing disclosure of any personally identifying information, and providing criminal sanctions in case of breach of confidentiality.
Read the Government response to this recommendation (24 November 2008)

Recommendation 16: Government departments and others wishing to develop, share and hold datasets for research and statistical purposes should work with academic and other partners to set up safe havens.
Read the Government response to this recommendation (24 November 2008)

Recommendation 17: The NHS should develop a system to allow approved researchers to work with healthcare providers to identify potential patients, who may then be approached to take part in clinical studies for which consent is needed.
Read the Government response to this recommendation (24 November 2008)