§ Mr. MackinlayTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if general practitioners and NHS establishments 517W are obliged to obtain patients' consent for the forwarding of anonymised computerised research data to the GPRO database at the Office for National Statistics; and if he will make a statement. [103480]
§ Ms StuartThe Department is awaiting a Court of Appeal ruling on the existence and extent of any duty of confidentiality in respect of anonymised patient information. I will write to my hon. Friend once the ruling is known.