To ask the Minister of Health for an update on the provision of regulations to implement the Health and Social Care (Control of Data Processing) Act (Northern Ireland) 2016.

The Health and Social Care (Control of Data Processing) Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 Act received Royal Ascent on 11th April 2016. Following unavoidable interruptions, planning resumed in 2022 for the introduction of the required regulations to enable the sharing of identifiable health data for secondary usages, beyond the limited and specific conditions available at present.

The process to draft regulations included a full review of the Act (2016) with guidance from the Department Solicitors Office. This review identified a substantive issue in the wording of the 2016 Act, regarding the scope of applicable data which could have encroached on the original intent of the legislation.

My department is currently considering which legislative vehicle may be most suitable to bring forward required amendments to the original Act (2016), before addressing the provision of regulations.