Lord Kakkar (CB)

My Lords, I thank the Minister for bringing this Statement to the House and, in so doing, I remind noble Lords of my own interests as chairman of the Office for Strategic Coordination of Health Research and as chairman of UK Biobank. I would like to reflect a little bit further on recommendation 5, which deals with the question of research and data. The recovery trial conducted during Covid was essential in rapidly bringing forward treatments that were proven and could be applied quickly to the benefit of those hospitalised with Covid who were requiring treatment and intervention, and it had a major impact on saving lives. It was possible only because the Secretary of State had to issue a COPI notice to ensure that there was access to confidential patient data, which was essential in being able to undertake such research studies as the recovery study. Is the Minister content that sufficient progress has been made in curating the totality of NHS data available and ensuring it is research ready, so that it could be applied effectively at scale and pace in any future pandemic? Can she confirm that the funding to support the capacity in infrastructure to undertake clinical research provided through the National Institute for Health and Care Research and the Medical Research Council will be protected in the forthcoming spending round to ensure that this vital research capacity is available at short notice if we have a future pandemic?