Further to our conversation earlier today, I would be very grateful if you could assist me in pursuit of research that I am carrying out. I would like to formally request release of the data currently being held by the PPA in relation to an R&D Office funded study looking at the use of ulcer healing drugs in Northern Ireland compared with England. I am making this request in relation to recently introduced legislation on ‘freedom of information’. As you are aware, prescribing data (in relation to section 1.3 in the BNF and NSAIDs for financial years 2001/2 2002/3) was collated on 101 English practices that had matched with practices in Northern Ireland. This is currently being held by the PPA. The matching process was carried out on the basis of anonymised data forwarded to me by the PCTs in three StHAs (Cheshire & Merseyside, Dorset & Somerset and Surrey & Sussex).Previously it was considered appropriate that this anonymised data could only be released with the permission of practices that the data related to. Due to the need to preserve confidentiality and anonymity, this has proved a highly complex process. I have had to release codes to the PCTs for them to attribute to anonymised matched practices. They in turn have passed on practice identities to ?????? (PACT Analyst). I have issued consent forms to the PCTs for them to forward them to the practices. The practices have then had to send these in to the PPA. I have then had to be in frequent contact with ?????? trying to identify where responses have been poor and getting him in turn to notify the relevant PCTs. I have then been involved in harassing PCTs to try and improve the response rate. To date it has taken 4 months of laborious toil to achieve 51 consents out of 101. Due to the small numbers it is necessary to continue to pursue as many positive responses as possible to achieve statistically reliable results.I was hoping that the enactment of the new legislation might allow for release of the entire data without having to continue with this very labour intensive process. I am after all working on an R&D commission trying to identify factors contributing to the ever escalating spend on PPIs, and relatively high spend in Northern Ireland compared with England. This work could well help save public resources and there would appear to me to be significant merit in releasing the data already collated in an anonymised form. This would not appear to me to represent a significant conflict with data protection legislation as the data would be anonymised. Any publications relating to the data would have to be forwarded to you at the PPA for prior approval, further safeguarding the practices concerned. No ethical issues arise as the data does not relate to any individual patients.I would be very grateful if you could make enquiry for me as to whether this will be possible.