To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on 26 February (HCWS1369), when they expect the data linkage study research approvals to be granted.
In common with other publicly funded research, the Data Linkage Study is subject to the formal approval of the Health Research Authority (HRA) before the study can begin. For the Data Linkage Study, this requires the consideration of an ethics committee and the Confidentiality Advisory Group.
As the study application remains in active progress with the HRA, and it remains important for the approvals process to be undertaken independently, it is unfortunately not possible to provide an expected date for the HRA approval process to be concluded.
The Department continues to support NHS England in progressing the study.
Answered on 13 Jul 2026