Health and Social Care (Safety and Quality) Bill — House of Commons, 2015-01-09
Topic: Health
Jamieson Ronald Reed (Labour, Centre-left): I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time Before I begin, I am sure that the eyes of every Member are on events in France and we wish the French authorities the very best of luck in their endeavours in the aftermath of Wednesday’s events I congratulate the hon. Member for Stafford (Jeremy Lefroy) on navigating his Bill to this stage. Not many private Members’ Bills make it to this point. This is a good Bill and I am sure we would all like to see it on the statute book. I hope that it can complete its final Commons stages today On 13 November 2014, the Secretary of State for Health announced that Dame Fiona Caldicott would be the new national data guardian for health and care, and that her role would become "the patients’ champion on security of personal medical information." She will "be able to intervene if she is concerned by how an organisation is sharing data. She can refer concerns directly to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and the Care Quality Commission (CQC)" Those principles are supported by all Opposition Members. Sharing data and information can and, indeed, should improve health care, but we must ensure that patient privacy is protected at all times If Dame Fiona’s role is to look at how organisations share data, that role will become directly relevant to the provisions in clause 3. In his announcement, the Secretary of State for Health said: "I intend to put the National Data Guardian on a legal footing at the earliest opportunity" The business of the House is not so demanding that he can blame a lack of parliamentary time for not introducing such plans, especially as there have been concerns about data for a very long time. Those concerns have become even more acute since the bungled implementation of the care.data scheme, which is so important to our research base. In Committee, I told the Minister that if the Government did not make progress on their announcement, the Opposition would help them out. That help has arrived today. The Government have done nothing, so I have tabled new clause 1 to place a duty on the Secretary of State to hold a consultation process on the role of a statutory national data guardian. We do not wish to prejudice the role by prescribing its functions. It is right that the role should be determined by consulting those on whom it will have an impact, not least Dame Fiona herself. Many stakeholders will be keen to contribute to a consultation process; they are crying out for progress The Bill places a duty on health care providers to share information wherever relevant. As new systems are put to the test, there will inevitably be more pressure on the national data guardian. The new clause would place a duty on the Secretary of State to start a consultation within 30 days of the passage of the Bill. We are all keen to see progress, and the new clause would ensure that the process got under way almost immediately We want the consultation to be meaningful and thorough to ensure that the new role is as effective as possible in maintaining standards by highlighting and, more importantly, fixing poor practice as and when it occurs. The Minister said in Committee that the delay to date was because the Government wanted to consult widely with stakeholders. That is the precisely the purpose of new clause 1, so I can only imagine that the Government will support it. If they oppose it, will he explain why? Will he commit himself to writing to me about the proposed timeline for the consultation and the planned legislative timetable for putting the role on a statutory footing, as we discussed in Committee Sharing data can lead to much better outcomes for patients throughout the health and social care sector, but we must ensure that personal data are used safely, and that any promotion of data sharing is done responsibly to improve health outcomes. That principle has already been explored in depth, and the Labour party is clear that it supports that principle, as I am sure do all Members. There is wide support for the role of the national data guardian. Putting it on a statutory footing has cross-party support. I hope that the Government will get on with it today.