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The NHS Shielded Patient List is provided directly to local authorities at county (Tier 1) and district (Tier 2) level as defined and agreed with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and associated Letter of Release. Each local authority will use this information to provide:
Upper tier local authorities can share information with their lower tiers subject to some further conditions. Local authorities should contact the MHCLG for further information. Local authorities are unable to add or deduct patients from the Shielded Patient List.
For guidance on how the SPL data you receive should and should not be used, please refer to the Letter of Release below, alongside the associated MHCLG guidance issued to Local Authorities.
This includes specific examples of permitted use, for example, to support targeted communications to clinically extremely vulnerable people about voting options for the May 2021 elections (electoral canvassing purposes are not permitted).
You can also contact the MHCLG at: shielding@communities.gov.uk.