Member

This group of amendments relates to the specification of the NHS number as the consistent identifier in the Bill. I acknowledge that the NHS number is widely regarded as the most obvious and practical choice for a consistent identifier for children. It is universal and assigned at birth to almost every child in the UK, making it one of the most consistently applied identifiers across the public sector. As other noble Lords have identified, it solves some of the problems with other numbers. It offers high data quality and broad coverage, is centrally managed, reducing the risk of duplication or error, and it is already in use across a wide range of healthcare settings. It supports interoperability being embedded in systems used by GPs, hospitals and public health services. This makes it far easier to link data across agencies, which is vital for effective safeguarding and early intervention. Importantly, it is governed by robust data protection standards. It is not publicly visible, and its use is tightly controlled, aligning well with the principles of confidentiality and security that underpin this legislation.