It is for local National Health Service organisations to choose which products and services they commission. We would expect local organisations to commission services which they deem to be effective and value for money.

A local Digital Technology Assessment Criteria (DTAC) assessment is required as part of the procurement process. It is expected that Kooth would only have been commissioned if the local NHS organisation had ensured it met baseline DTAC standards across technical assurance, data protection, clinical safety, interoperability, usability, and accessibility.

NHS England are reviewing the concerns raised by Members of Parliament and campaigners relating to Kooth.

The Department’s Core network doesn’t use any Huawei or ZTE Routers.

The Department's main corporate IT system (MODNET) does not use any laptops or desktops manufactured by Lenovo or Xiaomi.

The Department does not supply any mobile phones supplied by Huwaei, (ii) ZTE, (iii) Oppo, (iv) Honor or (v) Xiaomi. None of the device manufacturers listed are used on the MODs enterprise systems.

The Department's main corporate IT system (MODNET) does not permit the download or use of WPS Office on its devices.

None of the sim cards used on the Ministry of Defence’s enterprise systems are provided by CMLink.

There are currently over 34.3 million sign-ups on the NHS App, enabling users to access a range of National Health Services, such as booking and managing general practice (GP) and hospital appointments, ordering repeat prescriptions, and viewing their prospective GP health record. The following table shows the number of repeat prescriptions ordered via the NHS App in each of the last 12 months, as well as the mean and total of repeat prescriptions:

As of March 2024, there were 34.3 million sign-ups for the NHS App.

We recognise that digital skills levels are not universal, including amongst those people who need our health services the most. NHS England is therefore collaborating with local organisations and charities to include NHS App support in their outreach programmes. Alongside this, we have a priority programme to develop secure and safe ways for families and carers to access the NHS App on behalf of other people. The efficiency that the NHS App brings to frontline health services frees up staff to reach people who cannot access digital services via face-to-face and telephone appointments which will continue to be available.

The Department is not planning to publish a formal response to the report, but will use the recommendations to inform ongoing work to improve the App.

People can currently log in to the NHS App with their face ID or fingerprint and can be remembered on their device too. We are introducing more automated ID checks and new forms of login in the next 6 months, to make it even quicker for people to register and log in to the NHS App across a range of devices. This includes our web version that people without smartphones can access.

In the short term, we are making it easier to read information in the medical record, appointment lists, test results and prescription information. NHS England is making strategic changes in how the data is sent from system suppliers which will allow it to be more clearly presented.

We are updating plans to help frontline staff support their patients to use the NHS App, through training and support. This will be backed up by improvements to existing help pages and support processes and redesigning the contact form to make sure queries can be quickly resolved.

NHS England will work closely with frontline staff, Patient Participation Groups and our large App Ambassador network so that they can explain the NHS App to patients. This network will be expanded so that awareness of the support offer is raised further as suggested in the report.

We recognise that digital skills levels are not universal, including amongst those people who need our health services the most. NHS England is therefore collaborating with local organisations and charities to include NHS App support in their outreach programmes. Alongside this, we have a priority programme to develop secure and safe ways for families and carers to access the NHS App on behalf of other people. The efficiency that the NHS App brings to frontline health services frees up staff to reach people who cannot access digital services via face-to-face and telephone appointments which will continue to be available.

The Department is not planning to publish a formal response to the report, but will use the recommendations to inform ongoing work to improve the App.

People can currently log in to the NHS App with their face ID or fingerprint and can be remembered on their device too. We are introducing more automated ID checks and new forms of login in the next 6 months, to make it even quicker for people to register and log in to the NHS App across a range of devices. This includes our web version that people without smartphones can access.

In the short term, we are making it easier to read information in the medical record, appointment lists, test results and prescription information. NHS England is making strategic changes in how the data is sent from system suppliers which will allow it to be more clearly presented.

We are updating plans to help frontline staff support their patients to use the NHS App, through training and support. This will be backed up by improvements to existing help pages and support processes and redesigning the contact form to make sure queries can be quickly resolved.

NHS England will work closely with frontline staff, Patient Participation Groups and our large App Ambassador network so that they can explain the NHS App to patients. This network will be expanded so that awareness of the support offer is raised further as suggested in the report.

The Medical Device Outcome Registry, National Joint Registry, and National Vascular Registry have been incorporated into a central software platform. Registries for ongoing migration are the legacy NHS Digital Breast and Cosmetic Implant Registry, and the Pelvic Organ Prolapse and Stress Urinary Incontinence Registries. The National Registry of Hearing Implants (Cochlear) and National Major Trauma Registry are new registries in development. As of 26 March 2024, 69 providers have been onboarded to the Medical Device Outcome Registry.

The current contract with NEC Software Solutions for centralising the Medical Device Outcome Registry, National Joint Registry, and National Vascular Registry is £969,544. Further information is available at the GOV.UK contracts finder, at the following link:

https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/bb2b90d1-c52c-4388-9159-7e8b8dce3c32

The Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO) has convened discussions with Chief Digital and Information Officers and Chief Technology Officers from across government to identify key principles and guardrails for the mobile app strategy. The strategy will be finalised next year, as set out in the 2022 to 2025 roadmap for digital and data.

Alongside this, the Government Digital Service (GDS) is developing a GOV.UK App that builds upon the success of the existing GOV.UK One Login identity checking app, which has been downloaded over 5.7 million times.

The Breast Screening Risk Adaptive Imaging for Density trial is looking into the use of supplementary imaging techniques for women, within the standard breast screening programme, who are found to have radiographically dense breast tissue. The UK National Screening Committee, which advises ministers and the National Health Service in all four countries in the United Kingdom, will review this evidence when it becomes available.

The HO holds some information in relation to individuals who rent profiles on food delivery apps. However, we do not routinely publish the information you have requested and we are unable to provide this information, as it could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

The Government is engaging constructively with food delivery platforms, calling on them to end the use of unverified substitution. Unchecked account sharing places the public at risk, enables – and therefore encourages – illegal migration and leads to the exploitation of workers.

In November 2023, the Home Office secured agreement from the firms to strengthen their recruitment and on-boarding processes, in order to prevent unchecked sharing of accounts.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/food-delivery-companies-urged-to-end-unchecked-account-sharing.

The Government is engaging constructively with food delivery platforms, calling on them to end the use of unverified substitution. Unchecked account sharing places the public at risk, enables – and therefore encourages – illegal migration and leads to the exploitation of workers.

In November 2023, the Home Office secured agreement from the firms to strengthen their recruitment and on-boarding processes, in order to prevent unchecked sharing of accounts.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/food-delivery-companies-urged-to-end-unchecked-account-sharing.