Council Meeting

24 September 2025

Council members in attendance

George Fernie (Chair), Helen Dyer (Vice Chair), Adrian Marchbank, David Riley, Matt Noble, Andrew Latham, Chris Bunch, Martin Crook, Katie Thorn, Christopher Finken, Deborah Topping, Jonathon Osborn.

Observers

Deborah Topping, Raz Edwards, Claire Rafferty

Apologies

Phil Koczan, Allison Newell, Helen Bauckham, Darren Llyd, Erum Nomai, Neil Bhatia, Rhidian Hurle, Jason Smith,

Secretariat

It was agreed that the meeting would be recorded to aid note-taking. The recording would be deleted once the notes had been recorded.

1.  Welcome and declarations of interest

Introductions were made in the group. There were no declarations of interest.

2.  Notes from previous meetings

Council reviewed the notes of the 22 July 2025 Council meeting and accepted them as an accurate record of the previous meeting.

3.  Actions

The UKCGC Chair and Council members reviewed the action log. The Chair provided an update on the open actions. 

4.  Chair and Vice Chair’s report

  • The Chair provided a summary of meetings attended since the last Council meeting, for members’ benefit, including attendance at the recent National Data Guardian (NDG) panel meeting, a joint workshop between DHSC and NHS England, an overview of items raised at recent Breakfast Clubs and preparations for the next annual UKCGC Conference on 6 October 2026, which will be held online.

  • DHSC will produce a discovery paper and logic model, and further workshops and task groups are planned. George will be speaking at the HC-UK event in May 2026. 

  • Dates for upcoming Breakfast Clubs have been published on the UKCGC website, as well as the upcoming Evening Classes until the end of 2025. 

  • George presented a high-level summary of headlines from the UKCCG survey completed by 1,144 Caldicott Guardians. Initial analysis showed the topics of greatest interest to Caldicott Guardians were AI and new technology, information sharing and legal frameworks and safeguarding. 

  • UKCGC working group – George asked the group for volunteers to review three e-learning modules on the e-learning for Healthcare website, to form a new working group. 

  • George explained that Charlotte Heath Kelly from the University of Warwick has initiated a research project exploring the role of Caldicott Guardians. She is seeking volunteers / Caldicott Guardians from diverse backgrounds for interviews. 

5. A solicitor’s perspective on the implications of the Caldicott Principles

Andrew Latham from Capsticks provided an overview of the legal and ethical landscape surrounding Caldicott Guardians. Each of the Caldicott Guardian principles was explored in detail, emphasising the importance and limitations of each. It was highlighted that trust and confidence, not just compliance, should be central to data governance. The Council’s work in providing forums, guidance, and practical tools was praised. It was emphasised that organisations that perform simple tasks efficiently and complex tasks well are best positioned to avoid legal problems and uphold ethical standards.

 6. Caldicott Function Across Primary Care and Independent Sector

Matt Noble presented a personal reflection of his experience at Babylon Health. Matt emphasised the tension between legality (Principle 6), necessity (Principle 2), and data sharing (Principle 7). While combining global data might have been legally compliant, it was not ethically necessary. The experience emphasised the importance of planning for both failure and success, and ensuring that systems are resilient and locally controlled. It was urged that Caldicott Guardians should consider disaster recovery as part of their ethical responsibilities and highlighted the need to balance commercial efficiency with patient trust, control, and long-term data integrity.

7. Other Business

None raised. 

8. Next meeting

The next meeting will be held in person on 27 November 2025 from 13:00-16:00 at Wellington House, London.