To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the operation of the NHS COVID-19 app.

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the operation of the NHS COVID-19 app.

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people have been told to isolate through the NHS Track and Trace app only to (1) show no symptoms, and (2) not need hospitalisation.

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people have been told to isolate through the NHS Track and Trace app only to (1) show no symptoms, and (2) not need hospitalisation.

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the accuracy of the NHS COVID-19 contact tracing app in identifying close contacts with people who test positive for the virus.

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the accuracy of the NHS COVID-19 contact tracing app in identifying close contacts with people who test positive for the virus.

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have (1) to increase the opportunity for pregnant women to have two doses of vaccinations by the time their pregnancy is full term by ensuring that that the NHS vaccination booking system allows them to book a second dose of vaccine eight...

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have (1) to increase the opportunity for pregnant women to have two doses of vaccinations by the time their pregnancy is full term by ensuring that that the NHS vaccination booking system allows them to book a second dose of vaccine eight...

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people have downloaded the NHS COVID-19 application; how many contacts of people with COVID-19 tested positive after being traced through (1) the NHS COVID-19 application, and (2) other means, on each day since 1 January; and of such contacts, how many they were...

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people have downloaded the NHS COVID-19 application; how many contacts of people with COVID-19 tested positive after being traced through (1) the NHS COVID-19 application, and (2) other means, on each day since 1 January; and of such contacts, how many they were...

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many times the NHS COVID-19 application has notified people that they need to self-isolate.

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many times the NHS COVID-19 application has notified people that they need to self-isolate.

To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the percentage of smartphone users in the UK who have downloaded the NHS COVID-19 Application.

To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the percentage of smartphone users in the UK who have downloaded the NHS COVID-19 Application.

To ask Her Majesty's Government how much (1) has been spent to date, and (2) they estimate will be spent this financial year, on the NHS Test and Trace service.

To ask Her Majesty's Government how much (1) has been spent to date, and (2) they estimate will be spent this financial year, on the NHS Test and Trace service.

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Bethell on 1 October (HL Deb col 287), how they calculated the figure that 89 per cent of the population have telephones whose hardware and software is compatible with the NHS COVID-19 application; and what assessment they have made...

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Bethell on 1 October (HL Deb col 287), how they calculated the figure that 89 per cent of the population have telephones whose hardware and software is compatible with the NHS COVID-19 application; and what assessment they have made...

To ask Her Majesty's Government who owns (1) the intellectual property rights, and (2) the commercial rights, of the algorithm that was developed for the NHS COVID-19 app to determine the distance between users and the length of time users have spent in proximity to each other.

To ask Her Majesty's Government who owns (1) the intellectual property rights, and (2) the commercial rights, of the algorithm that was developed for the NHS COVID-19 app to determine the distance between users and the length of time users have spent in proximity to each other.

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to incorporate the results of rapid saliva-based COVID-19 test kits into the NHS COVID-19 app

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to incorporate the results of rapid saliva-based COVID-19 test kits into the NHS COVID-19 app

To ask Her Majesty's Government, following the WannaCry ransomware attack on the NHS, what instructions were provided to (1) NHS, and (2) Public Health England (PHE), staff about the importance of software updates; what assessment they have made of whether the PHE Excel errors, resulting in COVID-19 cases being unreported,...

To ask Her Majesty's Government, following the WannaCry ransomware attack on the NHS, what instructions were provided to (1) NHS, and (2) Public Health England (PHE), staff about the importance of software updates; what assessment they have made of whether the PHE Excel errors, resulting in COVID-19 cases being unreported,...

My Lords, we have TV advertising, celebrity endorsement, stakeholder mobilisation, social media engagement and newspaper wraparounds. We have done an enormous amount to support the app launch, with a massive campaign—but the greatest promotion is a great product. Fifteen million downloads, 500,000 QR downloads, 8 million venue check-ins and thousands isolated suggest that the British public have embraced the app as a valued tool to protect the ones they love.

My Lords, we have TV advertising, celebrity endorsement, stakeholder mobilisation, social media engagement and newspaper wraparounds. We have done an enormous amount to support the app launch, with a massive campaign—but the greatest promotion is a great product. Fifteen million downloads, 500,000 QR downloads, 8 million venue check-ins and thousands isolated suggest that the British public have embraced the app as a valued tool to protect the ones they love.

My Lords, the primary purpose of the app is to break the chain of transmission. Therefore, alerting as many people who have been in close proximity to a Covid threat as we can is a primary objective. However, the app also does an enormous amount to provide information for those trying to understand the regulations in their local area. It also does a lot to support those in isolation and we very much hope to be able to connect the payments for isolation benefit with the app in later versions.

My Lords, the primary purpose of the app is to break the chain of transmission. Therefore, alerting as many people who have been in close proximity to a Covid threat as we can is a primary objective. However, the app also does an enormous amount to provide information for those trying to understand the regulations in their local area. It also does a lot to support those in isolation and we very much hope to be able to connect the payments for isolation benefit with the app in later versions.

My Lords, I entirely agree with the noble Lord’s observation. These are parallel developments and we are indeed working on them. It is important that the app captures all testing information. We are working extremely hard to ensure that all tests, wherever they come from, whether pillar 1 or pillar 2, are captured in the app. We are also doing an enormous amount to ensure that there are supporting measures for those who work in social care and teaching, so that they have the security of knowing that their workplaces are protected.

My Lords, I entirely agree with the noble Lord’s observation. These are parallel developments and we are indeed working on them. It is important that the app captures all testing information. We are working extremely hard to ensure that all tests, wherever they come from, whether pillar 1 or pillar 2, are captured in the app. We are also doing an enormous amount to ensure that there are supporting measures for those who work in social care and teaching, so that they have the security of knowing that their workplaces are protected.

My Lords, the secret sauce of the app is the algorithm at its heart, which takes data from Apple and Google phones and the Bluetooth component, and applies a risk-scoring analysis that judges proximity, velocity and context to give a true assessment of risk. That is how we seek to avoid false positives and false negatives. We have invested in the algorithm in conjunction with Apple and Google and it is an incredibly important piece of added value. Without that algorithm, the app would not work properly.

My Lords, the secret sauce of the app is the algorithm at its heart, which takes data from Apple and Google phones and the Bluetooth component, and applies a risk-scoring analysis that judges proximity, velocity and context to give a true assessment of risk. That is how we seek to avoid false positives and false negatives. We have invested in the algorithm in conjunction with Apple and Google and it is an incredibly important piece of added value. Without that algorithm, the app would not work properly.

My Lords, the Protect Scotland app has delivered huge value for the Scottish people. It has guided many to isolate and it has been downloaded a very large number of times. We seek to get the UK app and the Scottish app working together in the second version. We have learned an enormous amount by collaborating with Scottish colleagues and have gained enormous value from their learnings.

My Lords, the Protect Scotland app has delivered huge value for the Scottish people. It has guided many to isolate and it has been downloaded a very large number of times. We seek to get the UK app and the Scottish app working together in the second version. We have learned an enormous amount by collaborating with Scottish colleagues and have gained enormous value from their learnings.

My Lords, I greatly regret that the noble Baroness, Lady Deech, had to make that journey. That is a troubling thing for her to have had to do. I reassure her that 89% of the population have phones whose hardware and software is compatible. Even on today’s numbers, one-third of the 16-plus population of Britain has the app on their phone. This number is high enough to make the app extremely effective; it is an enormous penetration. While this does not account for absolutely everyone, it is terrific progress and we will build on that success.

My Lords, I greatly regret that the noble Baroness, Lady Deech, had to make that journey. That is a troubling thing for her to have had to do. I reassure her that 89% of the population have phones whose hardware and software is compatible. Even on today’s numbers, one-third of the 16-plus population of Britain has the app on their phone. This number is high enough to make the app extremely effective; it is an enormous penetration. While this does not account for absolutely everyone, it is terrific progress and we will build on that success.

My Lords, I cannot answer the noble Baroness’s question. There is a very good reason: the privacy arrangements of the app mean that we do not know who has downloaded it. This information is available only to those who have downloaded it. It is precisely because of those privacy arrangements that an enormous amount of trust is placed in the British people. However, I do not deny that it is frustrating that we do not have the kind of demographic insights that the noble Baroness quite reasonably asks for.

My Lords, I cannot answer the noble Baroness’s question. There is a very good reason: the privacy arrangements of the app mean that we do not know who has downloaded it. This information is available only to those who have downloaded it. It is precisely because of those privacy arrangements that an enormous amount of trust is placed in the British people. However, I do not deny that it is frustrating that we do not have the kind of demographic insights that the noble Baroness quite reasonably asks for.

The noble Lord has made a very detailed and technical inquiry. We are studying the ENX system very closely. However, as I mentioned earlier, the secret source of the British app is the algorithm that takes the data from Bluetooth and the phone and analyses it to give the risk assessment. Our view is that that algorithm is absolutely critical. Without it, the ENX system fires off alerts to anyone who has been proximate to another Bluetooth phone that has registered a positive test, even if they have only driven past that phone on the motorway. Those are exactly the kinds of circumstances that the British public made it crystal clear to us they simply would not tolerate. Therefore, we have put an enormous investment into that algorithm. We have had an enormous amount of interest from other countries, and we are happy to share that learning with companies as we develop our intelligence on it.

The noble Lord has made a very detailed and technical inquiry. We are studying the ENX system very closely. However, as I mentioned earlier, the secret source of the British app is the algorithm that takes the data from Bluetooth and the phone and analyses it to give the risk assessment. Our view is that that algorithm is absolutely critical. Without it, the ENX system fires off alerts to anyone who has been proximate to another Bluetooth phone that has registered a positive test, even if they have only driven past that phone on the motorway. Those are exactly the kinds of circumstances that the British public made it crystal clear to us they simply would not tolerate. Therefore, we have put an enormous investment into that algorithm. We have had an enormous amount of interest from other countries, and we are happy to share that learning with companies as we develop our intelligence on it.