Birth and Death Civil Registration and Cancer Data

Registration and cancer data are available through the MRIS (NHS IC) which can provide birth, death or cancer data.

If you require registration or cancer data from MRIS (NHS IC) you will need to ensure you have a clear legal basis and provide the information required with your application. The MRIS (NHS IC) work with the ONS to provide you with access to these data, however the decision as to whether access is permitted lies solely with the ONS.

ONS hold data derived from cancer registration, on behalf of the SoS for Health, and their release for research and related purposes is authorised by him under the NHS Acts, through a SLA between DH and ONS. For access to this data you will need explicit consent from an individual or the permission of the National Information Governance Board (NIGB).

Access to Registration data is permitted by the ONS and can be released using one of the Access Routes detailed below:

Access Routes

1. Individual records on birth or deaths are provided to ONS under the National Health Service Act 2006 (section 270) and the NHS (Wales) Act 2006 (section 201) and can be made available to you if you are a representative of the Secretary of State for Health in order to assist him in the performance of his functions in relation to the Health Service under S42(4) of the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007.

This will require proof that you are working on behalf of the Secretary of State for Health, a commissioning letter which confirms this status in relation to the project you are seeking access to the registration data for or evidence that the project is funded by DH, an NHS organisation, Arms Length Bodies or another organisation accountable to the Secretary of State for Health.

2. You have explicit consent from the data subjects to access the Registration or cancer data being sought. The validity of this consent will need to be reported by the MRIS (NHS IC) to ONS. The nature of the consent will need to cover access to registration and cancer data.

For the few cases that do not fall into either category above, then ONS Approved Researcher (AR) accreditation is necessary.

3. ONS Approved Researcher (AR): This requires each researcher accessing the data to gain AR Status, information on how to become an AR can be found on the Access to ONS data service page (on ONS website). This is a temporary legal gateway that provides access to identifiable data for those researchers and projects that meet the criteria set out by ONS. As part of the AR process you will also need to complete an ONS Health Customer Request Form.