Consultation outcome

Information standards for health and adult social care

Applies to England

This consultation has concluded

Read the full outcome

Detail of outcome

This is the Department of Health and Social Care’s (DHSC) response to the consultation about proposals for regulations to make provision about the procedure to be followed for the preparation and publication of information standards. 

There were 132 responses to the consultation. We are grateful to all respondents for taking the time to consider this consultation. We have taken on board the feedback and used the analysis of responses to inform the drafting of the proposed regulations (the regulations). Responses will also inform the contents of any supporting guidance, which may accompany the regulations.

The regulations are subject to the affirmative Parliamentary procedure and we hope to lay regulations before Parliament in spring 2025.


Original consultation

Summary

We are seeking your view on proposals for the procedure to be set out in regulations in connection with preparing and publishing information standards for health and adult social care in England.

This consultation ran from
to

Consultation description

Information standards in relation to the health and adult social care sector are standards relating to the processing of information, prepared and published under section 250 of the Health and Social Care Act (HSCA) 2012 as amended by the Health and Care Act (HCA) 2022, and as proposed to be amended by the Data Protection and Digital Information (DPDI) Bill, which is currently before Parliament.  

Currently, the Secretary of State or NHS England may prepare and publish information standards, which the Secretary of State, NHS England and publicly funded health and adult social care organisations in England must have regard to.  

Changes made by the HCA 2022, once commenced, will:

  • make information standards binding
  • extend information standards so that they may also apply to private health and adult social care providers

The changes also require regulations to make provision about the procedure to be followed in connection with the preparation and publication of information standards. 

The Secretary of State is required, before laying a draft of the regulations before Parliament, to consult such persons as the Secretary of State considers appropriate.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is the department responsible for developing and delivering the regulations. DHSC is required to undertake a public consultation before laying a draft of the regulations before Parliament.

Documents

Updates to this page

Published 15 February 2024
Last updated 22 November 2024 + show all updates
  1. Published a response to the consultation.

  2. First published.

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