§ Lord Marlesfordasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many National Health Service numbers are currently issued; whether these are recorded on a central computer; and, if so, which government departments have access to the records. [HL1932]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath)There are currently 66 million National Health Service numbers used for the National Health Service in England and Wales. These are recorded on the National Health Service central register, managed and operated by the Office for National Statistics on behalf of the Department of Health. The National Health Service Strategic Tracing Service, managed by Seam Group on behalf of the National Health Service, also holds details of all National Health Service patients and their numbers. No other government department has access to the registers.