The Gateway is a common entry point to discover and request access to UK health datasets. You can find more about our mission and purpose here.
The Gateway lists over 750 datasets, all of which users can request access to. One of our primary objectives is to simplify, streamline and therefore reduce the time it takes users to submit, and data custodians to review and make a decision on user requests for access to data.
Data Access Request (DAR) Forms:
Once you find a dataset that suits your research needs you can click the 'How to request access' button on the dataset listing (you will need to be logged into your Gateway account).
Depending on the data custodian responsible for the dataset, users will either be able to send a data request enquiry, or send a data request enquiry then complete the Five Safes DAR form which allows the whole DAR process to be managed through the Gateway.
Enquiry form
Once the user has completed and submitted the enquiry form (image below), the content of this will be emailed to the data custodian for consideration, who will then get in touch with the user. For these types of enquiry there are no other steps that need to be undertaken on the Gateway.
Five Safes DAR Form
For the Five Safes form, we ask users to initially submit an enquiry to the data custodian to discuss requirements. Once this is complete users can then fill in the Five Safes form which is based on the ONS principles of Safe people, Safe project, Safe data, Safe settings, and Safe outputs.
Once the user(s) has completed and submitted the application the custodian is then able to review the application, query aspects of it and/or ask for further information and then decide on whether to approve the application (with or without conditions) or reject it. All of this is done through the Gateway.