Professor Mark Lawler:

That is a very good question on data sharing. One of the things we have been looking at is how we do this most effectively, particularly between the North and the South, because there will be potential challenges there. One of the things that is very important in this regard is the European Health Data Space. This is a new initiative that is just starting at European level which is looking at ways in which we can work together in that space, what the key challenges we face are, and ways in which we can do that while still maintaining the appropriate level of checks to make sure the data that is being shared is of appropriate standard and there are no data breaks or anything like that. How we do this best is something we have considered a lot. Yes, there are potential challenges in some of the discussions at the moment of looking at ways in which that may change from the current situation. It is something we are keeping an eye on and looking at ways in which to do that.

We are also looking at pilot studies, for example, ways in which we can work together between the UK and Ireland on something called DATA-CAN, which is the UK's health data research hub for cancer, and at ways we can work with the North of Ireland, which we are already doing, but also with the South. St. James's Hospital is one of the target sites for that. We are focusing on that because it is something that is very powerful, that has to be done in an appropriate way and that has to involve patients. We involve patient advocates from the very start of the programme and they are involved in looking at the different approaches we use and making sure that they are acceptable to patients and informed by patient opinion.