Health and Social Care Data Board minutes: May 2025

Attendees and apologies

Chair

• Carol Sinclair (CS)

Board members

• Jonathan Cameron (JC)
• JD
• ED
• TG
• MG
• Roger Halliday (RG)
• Karen Hedge (KH)
• LH
• CK
• AK
• FL
• MM
• Eilidh McLaughlin (EM)
• MMu
• Nicola Steadman (NS)

Programme team

• RA
• RG
• GW

In Attendance

• EB
• WB
• CB
• CC
• AH
• IH
• LT

Apologies

• Colin Birchenall (CB)
• SC
• Scott Heald (SH)
• Heather Thomson (HT)
• JT
• AW
• DW
• Angie Wood (AW)

Items and actions

Welcome, Introductions and Apologies.

Carol Sinclair welcomed everyone to the sixteenth meeting of the Health and Social Care Data Board, and welcomed Fiona Lockhart Business Development Manager, Glasgow Health and Social Care Partnership who has joined Data Board as a member in replacement of Susan Cloke.

Carol Sinclair welcomed Calum Cockburn – Digital Services and Innovation Policy Manager – Scottish Government, and Isobel Houston – Policy Team Leader – AI Innovation and Development – Scottish Government who are presenting item 6 of the agenda.

Carol Sinclair welcomed Wendy Barber – Information Governance Manager, Falkirk Council and member of SOLAR, and Catherine Bromley – Head of Service (Digital Strategy & Product Development), Public Health Scotland, deputising for Scott Heald, to the meeting.

Apologies were noted from Colin Birchenall, Simon Crawley, Scott Heald, Heather Thomson, Jonathan Todd, Alison White, Donald Wilson and Angie Wood.

Minutes, Action Log and Policy update

The Board noted:

• Minutes from the meeting held on 25 February 2025 are published on our website

Outstanding actions:

• DHC DB 093 – SH to share the process for prioritising data requests received as part of the changes to Social Care Data Workstream
• DHC DB 107 – CB to share the outcome of the Local Government data survey on data capabilities with Board members

All other action log items are complete.

Policy Updates and Sub-Board flash reports were shared with Board members prior to the meeting. Any feedback should be provided directly to RG and RA.

The Board discussed:

• connections have been made between Public Health Scotland and COSLA to support the work on the use of CHI in Local Government

Hot Topics

Carol Sinclair invited Alistair Hodgson, Jonathan Cameron, Gemma Wilson and Albert King to provide updates on the following topics:

• Strategic Plans for Health and Social Care Reform and Landscape Review
• Digital Front Door
• Data Standards Update
• Data Platforms Board Update  

Strategic Plans for Health and Social Care Reform and Landscape Review

The update covered:

• an overview of the strategic plans for reform of health and social care, outlining direction of travel and how digital and data will support this the outcomes of the landscape review and indicative next steps

The Board discussed:

• concerns regarding the reform agenda being heavily focused on health and that the Landscape Review didn’t include Local Government, social care or social work.  It was highlighted that the reform agenda needs to be integrated to ensure we can provide a seamless service and improve outcomes for people
• that the report was an independent review for the Scottish Government and that the UK Treasury has recognised that the public sector spending rules and financial development processes are not suitable for the digital age. The Treasury also recognised that digital and data programmes require much longer-term funding than the current Treasury guidance which predominantly considers 1–3-year cycles. The Treasury have committed to updating the guidance to have a much stronger emphasis on digital transformation programmes
• that discussions have also taken place across the Four Nations on how we deter, support each other, and how we might develop business case development skills
• the need to agree the key data points required to support this work while the Local Government Data Returns are under review. This will help show alignment with Scottish Government priorities, especially where social care legislation doesn’t mandate a data extract. It also ensures the contracted IT suppliers – and their contracts – are fully engaged to provide complete and accurate data to support a ‘Digital First’ approach. Consideration is also required on capabilities, capacity and expert knowledge of social care as part of this work to develop the much-needed links in national digital and data solutions

Digital Front Door

The update covered

• the plans to deliver DFD by December 2025, focusing on the data specific elements for the pilot versus long term
• the programme is on track for delivery in December with a focus on primary services for the launch in Lanarkshire
• NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) have appointed the delivery partner, BJSS, to help accelerate the delivery with focus on integration and support the next steps on the Business Case – to set out the roadmap and future direction of the rollout across all geographical areas and the development of services including social care, specifically on data

The Board discussed:

• if the data from DFD can be integrated into the Seer 2 platform and how Seer can support DFD
• the need to refine and refocus the Board and Sub-Boards’ capacity to consider how it can support the reform priorities and deliver the programmes
• the opportunity to build on existing relationships and collaborative work to support DFD but being mindful not to duplicate governance already in place

Data Standards Update

The update covered:

• the progress for identifying options for resourcing the pilot of the Data Standards Sub-board, including collaboration with PHS and NSS to identify suitable roles. The options were:
  • set up a centralised data standards function within Scottish Government
  • commission out to a single existing organisation
  • have a virtual team, for example, through the virtual Centre of Excellence
  • have an independent data standards authority

The Board discussed:

• a proposal for a joint ‘digital and data standards board’ following the Landscape Review which can open up more support and funding

Data Platforms Board

The update covered:

• an overview and progress made to date to establish a Data Platforms Board

The Board was asked:

• to provide comments directly to Albert King and Colin Birchenall on the proposed approach, ways of working and suggestions for members with expertise in these areas

The Board discussed:

• the importance of raising the profile of this work to Chief Executives to show how critical digital and data is in supporting services, especially in the financial context of securing investment to keep platforms and technologies operating and effective
• that there is only a small cohort of people who have the business, subject and technical data knowledge to support the work required in meeting the aims of the strategies so there is a need to consider the language used to communicate with Chief Executives and highlighting the benefits and impact in order to bring knowledge, skills and capacity to support this
• the potential to bring together members from the working group and Data Standards Sub-Board to align their work as they are both dependent on each other for their successes

The board was asked:

• to note all updates

Next steps:

AK and JD to arrange a meeting to discuss how the Data Standards Sub-Board can support Digital Prescribing

Information Governance (IG)

Carol Sinclair invited Lisa Hill and Ruth Griffith to provide an overview of the short, medium and long-term priorities to support the development of a federated approach for Information Governance for health and social care.

The overview covered:

• the creation of the Short Life Working Group (SLWG) from Scottish Government, COSLA, SOLAR and NHS Information Governance Leads Forum with a shared purpose and vision to strengthen collaboration and set the foundations to enable the delivery of meaningful change for those that use and deliver health and social care services
• the wider strategic context that is currently changing which requires this work to sit within the integrated space to ensure a ‘Once for Scotland’ approach
• a review of the NHS IG Leads Forum to redefine and provide appropriate support and direction to Chief Executives; establish the future direction; create a roadmap and action plan to address key challenges
• the challenges identified were broken down into four core headings (Resourcing, Experience and Skillsets, Operational Workload and General) which translated into four objectives (NHS Scotland IG Forum Foundations, Communication, Training and Development, and Supporting Assurance and Compliance).
• outputs of the IG workshop for Local Government colleagues which explored the Local Government IG landscape that identified similar challenges and areas raised by NHS colleagues. Members of the workshop agreed on the approach and timeline to address these issues, and a report was drafted and issued to Data Board members, SOLAR’s Data Protection Group and Executive Group, and Solace (Council’s Chief Executive Group)
• recognition that there needed to be clear governance for agreeing decisions on Information Governance, for Local Government, for the NHS and through joint COSLA / DHAC governance
• next step is to evolve the SLWG into an IG Steering Group to provide a structured forum for collaboration and decision making across key stakeholders to help prioritise identifying and prioritise actions. Funding has been secured for additional resource and are currently working on appointing an IG Lead for Local Government

The Board was asked:

• to provide feedback on the plan, associated priorities and timescales
• to provide approval to set up a steering group to take immediate priorities forward

The Board discussed:

• the pace at which this work is being progressed as it will be challenging when it evolves and changes but there is also a limitation on pace due to lack of funding
• the close relationship between IG and cyber security which has been embedded into the IG approach
• the consideration required on the profession as a whole in terms of the training modules to ensure colleagues are upskilled in this area
• the need to highlight tangible measures of success to different audiences by pulling the examples into patient stories for example which will form a better understanding on the importance of this work and encourage buy in
• the different levels of maturity of this in health in Scotland and elsewhere and whether we can learn from others
• benefits of moving into single standardised documentation across health and social care to reduce workload, reduce siloed working and support staff who are moving across different organisations – in turn this supports patient’s in reducing the need to re-tell their story and receive better quality care
• explore how to bring together the IG Steering Group with the Social Care Intelligence Programme Board into a single governance entity to avoid duplication and confusion for stakeholders. Similarly with the data architecture and data standards work to link in and draw shared insight and actions
• work of the IG balanced scorecard which will measure impact of change over time and provide reassurance of data and digital products, for example data standards – but being mindful not to only focus on areas of progress in detriment of other areas which are not being measured but are equally as important
• the development of ‘drivers mapping’ to ensure any actions in the plan are clearly linked to aims and primary and secondary drivers and are realistically achievable based on capacity and dependencies

Next steps:

• LH to invite EM, Margaret Gair, RH to join the IG Steering Group

Data Strategy 2025 update 

Carol Sinclair invited Gemma Wilson to provide an overview of the approach for publishing the annual update of the Data Strategy.

The overview covered:

• following the same approach as last year’s update which is to provide a progress report on Year Two of the Strategy – including what was and wasn’t achieved – and set out the priorities for 2025
• a reflection on the importance of current strategic context in relation to the reform and renewal agenda for health and social care and what this means for the strategy
• quarterly engagement sessions with delivery partners were undertaken to effectively monitor and track progress of deliverables – these were pulled into key themes for drafting in the update

The Board was asked:

• to provide feedback on the content of the Data Strategy Update, highlighting any gaps
• to endorse the plan for publishing the update

The Board discussed:

• how the Update links in with the Operational Improvement Plan, Population Health Framework and Service Renewal Framework which sets out the wider vision and ambition across health and social care

Next steps:

• members to provide comments and feedback to GW via correspondence
• GW to amend the Update so that there is a better linkage of Data Strategy Priorities to the Priorities for Reform of health and social care

AI Policy Framework

Carol Sinclair invited Calum Cockburn and Isobel Houston to provide an update for the latest developments associated with the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Framework.

The update covered:

• the plan for developing a policy framework for the use of Artificial Intelligence in health and social care including defining the:  
  • strategic direction 
  • policy and regulations 
  • AI readiness and adoption

The Board was asked:

• to note the update and confirm they are content with the plan

The Board discussed:

• procurement of technology and assessing the life cycle of the product - instead of products being ‘retired’ at the end of the cycle, consider how it can be integrated into other areas and upscaled – for example how could tools be updated to support back office work and the impact it would have on staff
• optimising current technology and its functionality – there is a risk of buying a product in a landscape that is continually evolving and the assumption that the product has already been tested and procured
• the importance of data that underpins this work as well as other areas of importance that are interlinked such as infrastructure, cyber, risks from cyber, standards, quality and completeness of data, information governance
• encouraging Local Authorities to share and agree on Data Protection Impact Assessments to develop a ‘Once for Scotland’ approach which will be helpful to understand the use of AI and identify commonalities with other organisations across the sector
• concern over the readiness of our digital infrastructure and capacity to absorb innovation into systems against the pace of this work
• alignment of public engagement for this work with other areas in the wider context such as the general use of AI as we need to be mindful that there are potential crossovers and want to reduce duplication and stakeholder fatigue
• the importance in supporting staff in their knowledge and skillset on AI as it is quickly evolving and some training may then become outdated. Critical thinking is required on how AI works and the learning required on the AI that is being used versus future/emerging AI
• the need to consider digital inclusion for AI and Automation

Next steps:

• AK to share data assets with IH

Any Other Business

Next Data Board meeting:

Tuesday 26th August 2025, 13:00 – 16:00