A request to HOLD and NOT process the previously approved Pillar 2 testing data
Genome Research Limited · Research
In term In term in the September 2026 edition: the latest version runs to 19 February 2027.
- Reference
- DARS-NIC-411813-H0T2W
- Current version
- v3.6
- Term of current version
- 20 February 2026 to 19 February 2027
- Start date
- 2 November 2020
- Data controller
- Sole Data Controller
- Commercial purposes
- No
- Sublicensing
- No
- Files released to date
- 0
Why the data was released
Objective for processing
Genome Research Limited (also known as the Wellcome Sanger Institute) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Wellcome Trust, funded by them to carry out genome sequencing to advance understanding of the biology of humans and pathogens in order to improve human health.
Genome Research Limited is a charity focused on doing research for societal benefit, and the Covid surveillance project falls within that mission. They will therefore not be seeking to commercially benefit from the project. While Genome Research Limited's reputation may be enhanced by its participation, as a charity that does not translate into commercial benefits.
Genome Research Limited is working to fully understand the transmission and evolution of the virus which requires sequencing and analysing viral genomes at scale and speed. The number of samples calls for a rapid and robust increase in the UK’s pathogen genome sequencing capacity.
To provide this increased capacity to collect, sequence and analyse the whole genomes of virus samples in the UK, (COG-UK) is pooling the knowledge and expertise in genomics of the four UK Public Health Agencies, multiple regional University hubs, and large sequencing centres such as the Wellcome Sanger Institute.
By sequencing thousands of viral genomes from around the UK each week, Genome Research Limited will help public health authorities detect and respond faster to super-spreading events, and monitor for new mutations associated with resistance to vaccines once they are deployed. Because the utility of these sequences is directly tied to how fast they can be produced, it is important to have immediate access to the basic data fields needed to pick them for sequencing from the hundreds of thousands of tests conducted each week.
By linking the viral DNA sequences to a subset of the Pillar 2 data Genome Research Limited will enable Public Health agencies to be able highlight geographic hotspots of various strains of the coronavirus.
Processing activities
This DSA permits processing of the Data for the purpose of secure storage and back up.
This DSA does not permit any further processing.
Sanger will receive a data set from NHS England that contains a list of the positive COVID samples IDs and a subset of associated metadata. This will be de-identified by NHS England to an agreed level prior to it being received by Sanger. Sanger will download the dataset multiple times a day and apply algorithms to identify samples that are of interest and should be sequenced based upon a ranking system. A list of sample IDs will then be distributed to the required Sanger systems in order to enable the proposed use-cases.
The data will then be used to select a geographically representative set of samples (identified by the specimen ID) with sufficient viral material for sequencing each week. The sequences, dates and outer postcodes are linked and deposited in the MRC-CLIMB database and returned in reports to the Public Health Agencies.
Genome Research Ltd stores Data on the Cloud provided by Google UK Ltd.
Expected output
The viral sequences, sample dates and outer postcode are uploaded to the MRC-CLIMB database, which has separate agreements with the Public Health Agencies.
Wellcome Sanger Institute produces reports and a database which is available directly to the Public Health Agencies, and Test and Trace
Expected measurable benefits
The viral genome sequencing and analysis will help in the post-winter peak phase of the pandemic to maintain as much control as possible for as long as possible by:
1. Detecting superspreading events via their very different genomic footprint than diffuse community transmission. Genome Research Limited are already working with the four Public Health Agencies and intend to provide the data feed to Test & Trace so they can find these events fast, and respond, for example, via enhanced contract tracing.
2. Monitoring for instances where vaccines are not effective. Vaccines will create selective pressure on the virus to mutate and evade them. Detecting these changes as early as possible will empower decision making on which vaccines to deploy and when.
3. Providing support to rapid outbreak response to specific queries from Public Health Agencies where sequences are deemed essential and informative to the epidemic response.
Benefits reported so far
Not stated in the register.
Datasets on the current version
Legal basis for provision: Other-(Regulation 3 of the associated Health Service (Control of Patient Information) Regulations 2002) and Paragraph 8.3.2 of the CV19 directions.
| Dataset | Type of data | Sensitivity | Frequency | Confidential data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| COVID-19 UK Non-hospital Antigen Testing Results (Pillar 2) | Identifiable | Sensitive | Ongoing | Statutory exemption to flow confidential data without consent |
Files released
Files released counts only files released externally by DARS. Access granted in NHS England's own systems, such as its Secure Data Environment, is not included.
No files recorded as released under this agreement.
Version history
The register lists each renewal of this agreement as a separate row. This site has 4 versions.
DARS-NIC-411813-H0T2W-v3.6 20 February 2026 to 19 February 2027
- Title
- A request to HOLD and NOT process the previously approved Pillar 2 testing data
- Commercial
- No
- Sublicensing
- No
- Datasets
- 1
- Files released
- 0
Datasets: COVID-19 UK Non-hospital Antigen Testing Results (Pillar 2)
What changed from DARS-NIC-411813-H0T2W-v2.2
Text removed is struck through; text added is underlined. Unchanged paragraphs are summarised rather than repeated.
| Field | Was | Became |
|---|---|---|
| Title | A request to HOLD and NOT process the previously approved Pillar 2 testing data | |
| Applicant organisation | GENOME RESEARCH LIMITED | |
| Start date | 2026-02-20 | |
| End date | 2027-02-19 |
Processing activities
As part of an agreement with Public Health England, Genome Research Limited receive the viral samples for sequencing and, under this agreement, will receive the relevant anonymised Pillar 2 testing data hourly.
This DSA permits processing of the Data for the purpose of secure storage and back up.
Sanger will receive a data set from NHS Digital that contains a list of the positive COVID samples IDs and a subset of associated metadata. This will be de-identified by NHS Digital to an agreed level prior to it being received by Sanger. Sanger will download the dataset multiple times a day and apply algorithms to identify samples that are of interest and should be sequenced based upon a ranking system. A list of sample IDs will then be distributed to the required Sanger systems in order to enable the proposed use-cases.
This DSA does not permit any further processing.
Sanger will receive a data set from NHS England that contains a list of the positive COVID samples IDs and a subset of associated metadata. This will be de-identified by NHS England to an agreed level prior to it being received by Sanger. Sanger will download the dataset multiple times a day and apply algorithms to identify samples that are of interest and should be sequenced based upon a ranking system. A list of sample IDs will then be distributed to the required Sanger systems in order to enable the proposed use-cases.
[1 paragraph unchanged]
Genome Research Ltd stores Data on the Cloud provided by Google UK Ltd.
Unchanged: Objective for processing, Expected output, Expected measurable benefits.
DARS-NIC-411813-H0T2W-v2.2 13 January 2023 to 1 November 2023
- Title
- A request for Pillar 2 testing data
- Commercial
- No
- Sublicensing
- No
- Datasets
- 1
- Files released
- 0
Datasets: COVID-19 UK Non-hospital Antigen Testing Results (Pillar 2)
What changed from DARS-NIC-411813-H0T2W-v1.2
Text removed is struck through; text added is underlined. Unchanged paragraphs are summarised rather than repeated.
| Field | Was | Became |
|---|---|---|
| Start date | 2023-01-13 | |
| COVID-19 UK Non-hospital Antigen Testing Results (Pillar 2): legal basis | Other-(Regulation 3 of the associated Health Service (Control of Patient Information) Regulations 2002) and Paragraph 8.3.2 of the CV19 directions. |
Unchanged: Objective for processing, Processing activities, Expected output, Expected measurable benefits.
Objective for processing
Genome Research Limited (also known as the Wellcome Sanger Institute) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Wellcome Trust, funded by them to carry out genome sequencing to advance understanding of the biology of humans and pathogens in order to improve human health.
Genome Research Limited is a charity focused on doing research for societal benefit, and the Covid surveillance project falls within that mission. They will therefore not be seeking to commercially benefit from the project. While Genome Research Limited's reputation may be enhanced by its participation, as a charity that does not translate into commercial benefits.
Genome Research Limited is working to fully understand the transmission and evolution of the virus which requires sequencing and analysing viral genomes at scale and speed. The number of samples calls for a rapid and robust increase in the UK’s pathogen genome sequencing capacity.
To provide this increased capacity to collect, sequence and analyse the whole genomes of virus samples in the UK, (COG-UK) is pooling the knowledge and expertise in genomics of the four UK Public Health Agencies, multiple regional University hubs, and large sequencing centres such as the Wellcome Sanger Institute.
By sequencing thousands of viral genomes from around the UK each week, Genome Research Limited will help public health authorities detect and respond faster to super-spreading events, and monitor for new mutations associated with resistance to vaccines once they are deployed. Because the utility of these sequences is directly tied to how fast they can be produced, it is important to have immediate access to the basic data fields needed to pick them for sequencing from the hundreds of thousands of tests conducted each week.
By linking the viral DNA sequences to a subset of the Pillar 2 data Genome Research Limited will enable Public Health agencies to be able highlight geographic hotspots of various strains of the coronavirus.
Expected output
The viral sequences, sample dates and outer postcode are uploaded to the MRC-CLIMB database, which has separate agreements with the Public Health Agencies.
Wellcome Sanger Institute produces reports and a database which is available directly to the Public Health Agencies, and Test and Trace
DARS-NIC-411813-H0T2W-v1.2 2 November 2020 to 1 November 2023
- Title
- A request for Pillar 2 testing data
- Commercial
- No
- Sublicensing
- No
- Datasets
- 1
- Files released
- 0
Datasets: COVID-19 UK Non-hospital Antigen Testing Results (Pillar 2)
What changed from DARS-NIC-411813-H0T2W-v0.7
Text removed is struck through; text added is underlined. Unchanged paragraphs are summarised rather than repeated.
Benefits reported
Stated in the previous version and removed here.
Yielded Benefits is not a requirement for new applications.
Unchanged: Objective for processing, Processing activities, Expected output, Expected measurable benefits.
Objective for processing
Genome Research Limited (also known as the Wellcome Sanger Institute) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Wellcome Trust, funded by them to carry out genome sequencing to advance understanding of the biology of humans and pathogens in order to improve human health.
Genome Research Limited is a charity focused on doing research for societal benefit, and the Covid surveillance project falls within that mission. They will therefore not be seeking to commercially benefit from the project. While Genome Research Limited's reputation may be enhanced by its participation, as a charity that does not translate into commercial benefits.
Genome Research Limited is working to fully understand the transmission and evolution of the virus which requires sequencing and analysing viral genomes at scale and speed. The number of samples calls for a rapid and robust increase in the UK’s pathogen genome sequencing capacity.
To provide this increased capacity to collect, sequence and analyse the whole genomes of virus samples in the UK, (COG-UK) is pooling the knowledge and expertise in genomics of the four UK Public Health Agencies, multiple regional University hubs, and large sequencing centres such as the Wellcome Sanger Institute.
By sequencing thousands of viral genomes from around the UK each week, Genome Research Limited will help public health authorities detect and respond faster to super-spreading events, and monitor for new mutations associated with resistance to vaccines once they are deployed. Because the utility of these sequences is directly tied to how fast they can be produced, it is important to have immediate access to the basic data fields needed to pick them for sequencing from the hundreds of thousands of tests conducted each week.
By linking the viral DNA sequences to a subset of the Pillar 2 data Genome Research Limited will enable Public Health agencies to be able highlight geographic hotspots of various strains of the coronavirus.
Expected output
The viral sequences, sample dates and outer postcode are uploaded to the MRC-CLIMB database, which has separate agreements with the Public Health Agencies.
Wellcome Sanger Institute produces reports and a database which is available directly to the Public Health Agencies, and Test and Trace
DARS-NIC-411813-H0T2W-v0.7 2 November 2020 to 1 November 2023
- Title
- A request for Pillar 2 testing data
- Commercial
- No
- Sublicensing
- No
- Datasets
- 1
- Files released
- 0
Datasets: COVID-19 UK Non-hospital Antigen Testing Results (Pillar 2)
Objective for processing
Genome Research Limited (also known as the Wellcome Sanger Institute) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Wellcome Trust, funded by them to carry out genome sequencing to advance understanding of the biology of humans and pathogens in order to improve human health.
Genome Research Limited is a charity focused on doing research for societal benefit, and the Covid surveillance project falls within that mission. They will therefore not be seeking to commercially benefit from the project. While Genome Research Limited's reputation may be enhanced by its participation, as a charity that does not translate into commercial benefits.
Genome Research Limited is working to fully understand the transmission and evolution of the virus which requires sequencing and analysing viral genomes at scale and speed. The number of samples calls for a rapid and robust increase in the UK’s pathogen genome sequencing capacity.
To provide this increased capacity to collect, sequence and analyse the whole genomes of virus samples in the UK, (COG-UK) is pooling the knowledge and expertise in genomics of the four UK Public Health Agencies, multiple regional University hubs, and large sequencing centres such as the Wellcome Sanger Institute.
By sequencing thousands of viral genomes from around the UK each week, Genome Research Limited will help public health authorities detect and respond faster to super-spreading events, and monitor for new mutations associated with resistance to vaccines once they are deployed. Because the utility of these sequences is directly tied to how fast they can be produced, it is important to have immediate access to the basic data fields needed to pick them for sequencing from the hundreds of thousands of tests conducted each week.
By linking the viral DNA sequences to a subset of the Pillar 2 data Genome Research Limited will enable Public Health agencies to be able highlight geographic hotspots of various strains of the coronavirus.
Expected output
The viral sequences, sample dates and outer postcode are uploaded to the MRC-CLIMB database, which has separate agreements with the Public Health Agencies.
Wellcome Sanger Institute produces reports and a database which is available directly to the Public Health Agencies, and Test and Trace
Benefits reported
Yielded Benefits is not a requirement for new applications.
Register history
When this agreement appeared in, or was edited in, each monthly edition of the register. Built by comparing every edition this site holds, the earliest of which is July 2021.
-
July 2021 —
already listed in the earliest edition this site holds, so it may be older. 2 versions: DARS-NIC-411813-H0T2W-v0.7, DARS-NIC-411813-H0T2W-v1.2
-
February 2023
1 version added: DARS-NIC-411813-H0T2W-v2.2
-
March 2026
1 version added: DARS-NIC-411813-H0T2W-v3.6
Cite this page
NHS England (2026) Data Uses Register, September 2026 edition, agreement DARS-NIC-411813-H0T2W, “A request to HOLD and NOT process the previously approved Pillar 2 testing data”. Read via NHS Data Access Explorer (unofficial), https://healthdatauses.uk/agreements/dars-nic-411813-h0t2w/ (accessed [date]).
This address stays the same, but the page is rebuilt with each monthly edition, so the citation names the edition it shows. Every edition's data is kept in the facts store.
Source: datausesregister_september2026.xlsx, September 2026 edition of the NHS England Data Uses Register. Search that workbook for DARS-NIC-411813-H0T2W to see the original rows.