The linkage which was carried out between an extract of the National Health Service Central Register (NHSCR) and an extract of the 2011 Census was carried out under the direction of the Beyond 2011 Programme Board which was chaired by the Registrar General.

All staff who worked on the linkage and subsequent analysis between the extract of the NHSCR and the extract of 2011 Census data were National Records of Scotland employees.

The linkage which was carried out between an extract of the National Health Service Central Register and an extract of the 2011 Census was carried out under the direction of the Beyond 2011 Programme Board which was chaired by the Registrar General.

The programme contained several work streams and this linkage project was a subset of one work stream. A cost/benefit analysis was not produced for this specific piece of work, which involved minimal costs (see the answer to question S4W-24818 on 19 March 2015)

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http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

The linkage which was carried out between an extract of the National Health Service Central Register (NHSCR) and an extract of the 2011 Census was carried out under the direction of the Beyond 2011 Programme Board which was chaired by the Registrar General.

The Beyond 2011 Programme was established to explore the provision of population and socio-demographic statistics in Scotland. The programme aimed to investigate a range of options and alternatives in relation to the supply and provision of available statistical information, including the possibility of using administrative sources and methods for developing a more cost-effective and efficient census design. This linkage of extracts took place to help assess the suitability of increasing the use of the NHSCR in the production of census statistics.

This work involved a very small amount of staff time, within a much larger programme and so a precise figure is not available. However, we estimate the total cost is likely to have been around £3,000. All of this work was carried out within existing NRS budgets.

The linkage which was carried out between an extract of the National Health Service Central Register (NHSCR) and an extract of the 2011 Census was carried out under the direction of the Beyond 2011 Programme Board which was chaired by the Registrar General.

Section 5 of the Census Act 1920 imposes a duty on the Registrar General to further the supply and provide for the better co-ordination of any available statistical information with respect to the number and condition of the population between each census. The statistical research exercised that was carried out between the NHSCR and the census data was carried out in support of this duty.

The Scottish Government had no need to take lessons from the decision of the UK Government. The Scottish Government has had, and has, no plans to create an ID database or to introduce ID cards. The National Health Service central register has been in existence since the 1950s to enable effective delivery of public services; it does this by holding a minimal amount of information on an individual.

Data protection legislation requires data to be processed fairly and lawfully. The consultation sets out the detail of the amendments that would be made to the 2006 Regulations to provide the legal basis for sharing at the discretion of the Registrar General. Existing sharing arrangements under the 2006 Regulations are backed up by data sharing arrangements in line with data protection requirements and the consultation makes clear that similar data sharing arrangements are proposed for the amendments.

The responses to the consultation on amendments to the National Health Service Central Register (Scotland) Regulations 2006 will be published online within 25 working days after the close of the consultation in line with Scottish Government guidance. Responses will therefore be published no later than 1 April 2015.

The only proposed change to the NHS central register is to supplement existing postcode information with postcode information sourced from the Community Health Index system. As with other amendments, this would be implemented following the completion of a data sharing agreement.