LANCASHIRE County Council's public health director is backing a campaign for NHS England to share with councils detailed local coronavirus data collected from people who contact 111 about symptoms.

It is being led by his Blackburn with Darwen Borough counterpart Professor Dominic Harrison.

Dr Sakthi Karunanithi believes the information would help his and other authorities plan for the next stages of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Professor Harrison said the information gathered by postcode from NHS 111 could be ‘critical’ for local authorities planning for the next phase of the battle against coronavirus.

NHS England has been collecting postcode data on the suspected spread of the virus based on callers who ring or contact NHS111online to report Covid-19 symptoms.

Professor Harrison said the deaths and confirmed cases data on which councils are basing their planning on is two to three weeks behind the infections;'

He said: “At the moment the local modelling is difficult because the data inputs are poor. The thing that would help is sharing the postcode data that NHS 111 is now collecting.

“I think this is critical information if we are to be able to map the spread of the virus and plan for future healthcare and hospitalisation.

"This information would be enormously helpful to councils and their residents."

Dr Karunanithi said: "We are working with the local NHS and such information is essential for managing Covid-19."

The Lancashire Telegraph contacted NHS England which has yet to provide a response.