Published: 7 April 2025

Today the Government and the Wellcome Trust have announced that they are partnering to invest up to £600 million to establish a new Health Data Research Service.

The service will give approved researchers a single secure route to health data where personally identifiable information has been removed. It aims to simplify access to datasets such as primary care, hospital and mortality data.

Nicola Perrin, Chief Executive of the Association of Medical Research Charities said:

“The announcement of a Health Data Research Service is excellent news – for patients, for the NHS and for UK life sciences. Sustained, ringfenced funding – from the Government and Wellcome as a charitable funder – is the best way to unlock the power of NHS data to transform research and to improve health outcomes.

"This partnership is exactly what is needed to help to ensure a trustworthy approach, and to build confidence among public, patients and healthcare professionals which will be so crucial for success. We look forward to engaging closely with the new HRDS as the plans develop, building on and consolidating the multiple initiatives that currently exist for data access.” 

The Wellcome Trust and the Government have committed to consult with patient groups and academic, clinical and commercial researchers to ensure a world-class health research data service is developed quickly while putting patients’ needs first. AMRC will ensure our members are able to contribute to the development of the service.

The service, initially proposed in Professor Cathie Sudlow’s review of health data flows in the UK, will be housed at the Wellcome Genome Campus in Cambridgeshire. It will work closely with experts across the NHS, including the Data for Research and Development Programme, who have been rapidly improving its capacity for making data accessible for analysis.