Good TREs work
- Good TREs work, and can be seen to work safely — any project secrecy is a choice;
- Different TRE approaches are optimal for different tasks for different reasons — Five safes vs custom outputs.
- Transparency must cover all users — internal and external — and differences of process between them must be visible.
Good “Trustworthy Research Environments” Work; bad environments are like toxic waste seeping through the data ecosystem. There’s eternal pressure to turn good governance into weak governance so those who don’t qualify today can get data tomorrow.
Every project in every TRE should be listed in a public data uses register, and all of the data available to any project should be publicly listed. NHS England and OpenSAFELY both do this. NHS England has spent the last couple of years building a network of “Secure Data Environments”, partial lists are published of the different data they hold.
Name | Consensual | Safe | Transparent (how many projects; notes) |
---|---|---|---|
National | |||
NHSE (interactive) | ? variable (partial) | ✅ | ✅ (many; only some) |
OpenSAFELY | ✅ Yes for GPDOO | ✅ | ✅ (many) (best) |
MHRA CPRD | Yes (GPDOO & NDOO) | Not yet, but beginning | incomplete (many) |
Regions | |||
East of England | ✅ Yes (respects NDOO)(has no GP data?) | unclear | ✅ (1) |
Kent, Medway and Sussex | Unclear? (so no? has GP data) | unclear | ✅ (2) |
London (has GP data, ignores GPDOO; unclear on NDOO) | ❌ no | unclear | Limited detail (tens) |
North East and North Cumbria | ✅ Yes (respects NDOO) | unclear | ✅ (2) |
Thames Valley and Surrey | ❌ No (ignores NDOO; has no GP data?) | unclear (possibly no) | No (0) |
West Midlands | ✅ Yes (respects NDOO and GPDOO) | unclear | ✅ (4) |
Wessex | ✅ Yes (respects NDOO, has no GP data?) | unclear | ✅ (1) |
Yorkshire and Humber | ✅ Yes (respects NDOO, has no GP data?) | unclear | ✅ (many) |
(as of the 24 March 2025 none of the other regions are listed as operational). | |||
NHSE’s Federated Data Platform | ❗No (mostly used for direct care – publicly at least, but it is not an informed choice by patients) | Potentially (entirely policy) | ❌ No (but possible) |
Non-NHS Environments | |||
ONS Secure Research Service | ❌ No (no for most data, no for most NHS data, but yes for GP Data) | yes | Yes |
ONS Integrated Data Service | ❌ No (no for most data, no for most NHS data, but yes for GP Data) | Yes | Partial (gov/ONS projects not listed) (24) |
Notes:
153 organisations with at least one project that used the NHS Digital safe environment (529 orgs didn't use it at all):
- Astrazeneca Uk Limited
- Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council
- Barts Health NHS Trust 🚩
- Bedford Borough Council
- Birmingham Women's And Children's NHS Foundation Trust
- Blackburn With Darwen Borough Council
- Blackpool Borough Council
- Brighton And Hove City Council
- Bristol City Council
- Buckinghamshire Council
- Bury Metropolitan Borough Council
- Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council
- Care Quality Commission (cqc)
- Cheshire And Merseyside Cancer Alliance
- Cheshire East Council
- Cheshire West And Chester Council
- City Of Westminster
- Cornwall Council
- Coventry City Council
- Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne And Wear NHS Foundation Trust
- Department Of Health And Social Care
- Derby City Council
- Digital Health And Care Wales
- Durham County Council
- East Midlands Cancer Alliance
- East Of England - North Cancer Alliance
- East Riding Of Yorkshire Council
- East Sussex County Council
- Essex County Council
- Evidera Ltd
- Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council
- Greater Manchester Cancer Alliance
- Guy's And St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust 🚩
- Halton Borough Council
- Hampshire County Council
- Harrow Council
- Hartlepool Borough Council
- Health Data Research Uk
- Health Innovation Network - South London
- Hertfordshire County Council
- Hull City Council
- Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
- Humber, Coast And Vale Cancer Alliance
- Imperial College London 🚩
- Isle Of Wight Council
- Kent And Medway Cancer Alliance
- Kent County Council
- Kirklees Council
- Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council
- LANCASHIRE & SOUTH CUMBRIA CANCER ALLIANCE
- Lancashire County Council
- Lancaster University
- LANE CLARK & PEACOCK LLP
- Leicester City Council
- Leicestershire County Council
- Liverpool City Council
- London Borough Of Barking And Dagenham
- London Borough Of Barnet
- London Borough Of Bromley
- London Borough Of Croydon
- London Borough Of Ealing
- London Borough Of Enfield
- London Borough Of Hackney
- LONDON BOROUGH OF HAMMERSMITH & FULHAM
- London Borough Of Havering
- London Borough Of Hounslow
- London Borough Of Lambeth
- London Borough Of Lewisham
- London Borough Of Merton
- London Borough Of Newham
- London Borough Of Redbridge
- London Borough Of Richmond Upon Thames
- London Borough Of Southwark
- London Borough Of Sutton
- London Borough Of Tower Hamlets
- London Borough Of Waltham Forest
- Luton Borough Council
- Medway Council
- Methods Analytics Ltd 🚩
- Monitor
- National Institute For Health And Care Excellence (nice)
- National Institute For Health Research (nihr) Bioresource
- Neo Health Hub Limited
- Newcastle City Council
- NHS Counter Fraud Authority
- NHS England (quarry House) 🚩
- NHS North Yorkshire CCG 🚩
- Norfolk County Council
- North Central London Cancer Alliance
- North East Lincolnshire Council
- North Northamptonshire Council
- North Tyneside Council
- North Yorkshire Council
- North Yorkshire County Council
- Northern Cancer Alliance
- Northumberland County Council
- Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust
- Office For Health Improvement And Disparities
- Office For National Statistics (ons) 🚩
- Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council
- Oxfordshire County Council
- Peninsula Cancer Alliance
- Peterborough City Council
- Plymouth City Council
- Portsmouth City Council
- Public Health England (phe) 🚩
- Queen Mary University Of London 🚩
- Redcar And Cleveland Borough Council
- REGIONAL DRUG & THERAPEUTIC CENTRE
- Rm Partners
- Royal Borough Of Greenwich
- Royal Borough Of Kingston Upon Thames
- Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust
- Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council
- Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council
- Sheffield City Council
- Slough Borough Council
- Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council
- Somerset Council
- Somerset County Council
- Somerset, Wiltshire, Avon And Gloucestershire Cancer Alliance
- South East London Cancer Alliance
- South Gloucestershire Council
- South Tyneside Council
- SOUTH YORKSHIRE & BASSETLAW CANCER ALLIANCE
- Southend-on-sea Borough Council
- St Helens Council
- Staffordshire County Council
- Stockton-on-tees Borough Council
- Suffolk County Council
- Sunderland City Council
- Surrey And Sussex Cancer Alliance
- Swindon Borough Council
- TELFORD & WREKIN COUNCIL
- Thames Valley Cancer Alliance
- Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council
- University College London (ucl) 🚩
- University Hospitals Of Derby And Burton NHS Foundation Trust
- University Of Birmingham 🚩
- University Of Leeds 🚩
- University Of Manchester
- University Of Newcastle Upon Tyne 🚩
- University Of Oxford 🚩
- Wakefield Metropolitan District Council
- Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council
- Warrington Borough Council
- Warwickshire County Council
- Wessex Cancer Alliance
- West Midlands Cancer Alliance
- West Sussex County Council
- West Yorkshire And Harrogate Cancer Alliance
- Wokingham Borough Council
- Worcestershire County Council