Member

The noble Lord, Lord Kamall, asked about the protection of patient data. I assure him that an information gateway has been created in the legislation. It makes it clear that necessary data-sharing between the hub and the spoke must be seen as compliant with the Data Protection Act 2018 and the United Kingdom general data protection regulation. The legislation also expands professional confidentiality requirements to anyone who will be lawfully processing data for the purposes of the hub-and-spoke models. I believe that the information gateway, combined with professional confidentiality requirements, existing professional responsibilities and the accountability of healthcare professionals, creates a strong degree of protection for patient data that is processed as part of hub-and-spoke arrangements.