DSPT Interim (Baseline) assessment 24-25  

NHS Trusts, Integrated Care Boards, DHSC Arm’s Length Bodies and Commissioning Support Units are required to publish an interim (baseline) Data Security Protection Toolkit assessment during December 2024 with the deadline of 31 December 2024. Other sectors are not required to publish an interim (baseline) assessment. 

The interim assessment is the organisation’s position at the time of publication, it is not a forecast of the expected position in June 2025.

Why is an interim DSPT assessment required?  

An interim assessment indicates that your self-assessment is under way and that you understand your position in December 2024. It may also highlight to your organisation, areas which need particular focus ahead of the full assessment deadline of 30 June 2025.

The interim assessment is not formally assessed by NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) as part of performance management, but it allows NHS England and DHSC to understand the current position of organisations against the DSPT CAF profile across the different outcomes, review interim responses to outcomes and determine whether further guidance or support is required.

What are we expected to include in our interim assessment?

You should record your organisation’s current achievement level (Not achieved/Partially Achieved/Achieved) against each outcome in the DSPT.
It would be helpful to us if you included any evidence or supporting statements to provide context to the achievement levels, but this is not mandatory.

For outcomes that have a policy question (A2.b Assurance, B2.a Identity verification, authentication and authorisation and B4.d Vulnerability management) you will not be able to select any achievement level other than Not Achieved if you have not confirmed that you are meeting the policy question.

How to publish an Interim assessment

An Interim assessment section including a ‘Start Now’ button is now available on the assessment screen. You can then publish an interim assessment by following the ‘publish interim assessment’ link on the assessment page. You will receive an email confirmation once you have published your interim assessment.

There are no minimum expectations for each outcome before you can publish your interim assessment as it is a snapshot of current progress.
Details of your interim assessment are not shared in the public domain, only confirmation that you have completed an interim assessment and the date it was published. When saving outcomes, they can be saved as 'draft' or 'complete' when publishing the Interim assessment.

Please publish your interim assessment by 31 December 2024.

Log into the portal here: www.dsptoolkit.nhs.uk/Account/Login

Is the new date for the interim assessment a permanent move?

As it is a year of change for the DSPT, we want to get results back earlier this year so we can spot any trends or areas where organisations need more help and support. Leaving the interim assessment until closer to the deadline gives less time to deliver this help and support. The timing will be reviewed for 2025-26 interim assessments.

How can I find out more about the Interim Assessment?

We will cover in depth on the DSPT Webinar Tuesday 19th November 2024 12.30-13.30.
Details at: https://www.dsptoolkit.nhs.uk/News/webinars.

Thanks
DSPT Team.