The Government is committed to safeguarding patients as part of the shift from analogue to digital National Health Services, as set out in the 10-Year Health Plan.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency regulates artificial intelligence (AI) tools that provide clinical assessment to ensure they are safe for patient use in the NHS. NHS organisations deploying such tools must also comply with risk management standards and with the Digital Technology Assessment Criteria.

NHS England is developing national triage standards setting out the clinical principles, urgency thresholds, and performance expectations against which any AI-enabled triage will be assured before use and continuously evaluated against.

The Government has also established the National Commission into the regulation of AI in healthcare, which will advise on the future regulatory framework of AI.

The public beta of the GOV.UK app was launched on 1st July 2025, providing initial functionality to enhance access to government services.

The app will be developed iteratively, with new features such as the government’s generative AI chatbot – GOV.UK Chat, and GOV.UK Wallet introduced over time.

The app is designed to offer a personalised experience, proactively helping users to access and action central and local government services more easily and efficiently by understanding preferences and personal context.

Government refuses to tolerate violence against women and girls. Sexually explicit deepfakes are degrading and harmful.

We are legislating to ban their creation in the Data (Use and Access) Bill and have introduced a further offence in the Crime and Policing Bill to criminalise the possession, creation or distribution of AI tools designed to generate child sexual abuse material.

Government is also actively looking at options to address ‘nudification’ tools themselves.

Investment apps typically fall under the framework of financial services regulation, rather than gambling regulation, and would not typically be considered as offering a form of gambling. Within the framework of financial services regulation, HM Treasury is responsible for setting the overall legal framework and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is responsible for regulating and supervising the financial services industry. One of the FCA’s primary operational objectives is to secure an appropriate degree of protection for consumers.

The FCA is empowered by legislation to make rules as it considers necessary or expedient to advance its objectives and in 2022, it published research raising concerns about design features in trading apps, including those with game-like elements, and warned stock trading app operators to review their design features. The research noted that some customers appeared to exhibit behaviours similar to harmful gambling. Under the FCA’s Consumer Duty trading apps are explicitly required to pay attention to the needs of customers who may be vulnerable. The Duty also contains an expectation that firms avoid designing features which exploit the behavioural biases of consumers and requires product manufacturers to undertake appropriate testing of their products. In June 2024, the FCA noted that it was keeping trading apps under review over concerns about gamification.

Within the framework of gambling regulation, we are aware of an increase in the number of novel products which blur the line between gambling and other markets such as financial investment. The Gambling Commission has enhanced its licensing approach to novel products and in 2021 strengthened its Memorandum of Understanding with the FCA to ensure effective cooperation. The Gambling Commission has made clear that it will not normally grant a licence to products that use language usually associated with investments or financial products.

This government recognises that fans should be kept at the heart of live events, and we are concerned to see vastly inflated prices excluding many ordinary fans from having the opportunity to enjoy their favourite musicians.

That is why we have committed to introducing new protections for consumers on ticket resales, and we will launch a consultation in the autumn to seek views on potential options.

Following recent events, we will also examine issues around the transparency and use of dynamic pricing as part of our upcoming consultation this autumn. We welcome the Competition and Markets Authority’s announcement that it is also urgently reviewing recent developments in the ticketing market, including the use of dynamic pricing.

Dynamic pricing as a practice is not prohibited under consumer protection law. However, businesses using dynamic pricing are required to be fair and transparent in their dealings with consumers, and ensure they provide timely, clear and accurate information about their pricing practices. Failure to comply with these requirements may result in a breach of consumer law and could be followed by enforcement action.

We recognise that this is a complex area, and will work with artists, industry and fans to create a fairer system.

Software is a key driver of growth across the UK, and a fundamental building block of the digital economy. However, this has also increased its appeal to malicious actors. The Government is committed to strengthening the resilience of UK businesses and organisations, and it is a key pillar of the 2022 National Cyber Security Strategy.

The UK is already making significant progress in the area of cybersecurity. The UK Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure (PSTI) Act is raising standards of device security for consumers and organisations and the Network and Information Systems (NIS) Regulations are being updated to ensure that critical digital service providers have thorough security practices. These complement ongoing work by the National Cyber Security Centre to provide technical advice to the Government, critical national infrastructure and organisations across the UK.

In February, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology published a call for views on software resilience and security for businesses and organisations. This sought views on the key risks and challenges around software security, and where the Government should focus on mitigating them.

The call for views closed on 1 May, and the department is currently analysing the responses. These will inform the design of a set of policies to further address risks linked to software. The Government will be setting out its next steps in the summer.

HMRC works closely with the software industry to ensure that businesses have access to products that suit their budgets and needs.

The introduction of Making Tax Digital (MTD) for VAT has resulted in a competitive software market. Many businesses that were already using subscription-based accounting software before MTD saw their products upgraded for MTD compatibility for free. Several free and low-cost software products are available.

HMRC expects a similarly competitive market for MTD for Income Tax Self Assessment. The government remains committed to working with software suppliers to ensure there are free MTD for Income Tax Self Assessment software products for businesses with straightforward tax affairs.

As a result of the huge efforts everyone has made to adhere to strict social distancing measures, the transmission rate of COVID-19 has decreased and the government’s five tests have been met. Based on all the evidence, the department asked primary schools to welcome back children in nursery, Reception, year 1 and year 6, alongside priority groups (vulnerable children and children of critical workers), from 1 June. From 15 June, secondary schools can invite year 10 and 12 pupils (years 10 and 11 for alternative provision schools) back into school for some face-to-face support with their teachers, to supplement their remote education, which will remain the predominant mode of education for these pupils this term. Priority groups can continue to attend full-time.

The new NHS Test and Trace service was launched on 28 May across England. Anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 will be contacted by NHS Test and Trace and will need to share information about their recent interactions. The government has recruited 25,000 contact tracers to deliver this programme. Staff and pupils in nurseries and schools will be eligible for testing if they display COVID-19 symptoms, as will members of their households.

We have published guidance for schools to help prepare for wider opening, including how any suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19 should be handled:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-implementing-protective-measures-in-education-and-childcare-settings/coronavirus-covid-19-implementing-protective-measures-in-education-and-childcare-settings.

The National Health Service will be launching a major campaign to support the launch of the app.

We are working with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to mitigate the impact of digital exclusion. We are committed to regular audits of the app by independent specialist assessors to conduct usability testing of the app, including dedicated research to solely focus on accessibility, as part of a wider strategy to ensure nobody is excluded. We have published an Accessibility Statement which will be kept under review and updated as necessary.

We continue to work to ensure the National Health Service COVID-19 app is compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. We are committed to regular audits of the app by independent specialist assessors to conduct usability testing of the app, including dedicated research to solely focus on accessibility. We have published an Accessibility Statement, which will be kept under review and updated as necessary.

After the experience of SARS in 2003, Public Health England (PHE) developed a series of diagnostic tests capable of detecting all coronaviruses. These were used to detect the second case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus when it emerged in 2012. Following the publication of the genome sequence of Covid-19, PHE was able to rapidly develop further specific tests for this virus, working with the World Health Organization and its global network of laboratories.

The United Kingdom was one of the first countries outside China to have a prototype specific laboratory test for this new infection.

PHE has been approached by a number of diagnostic kit manufacturers and potential end-users who want PHE to evaluate the performance of commercial kits for specific detection of Covid-19 to inform the National Health Service.

Access to suitable positive control materials, including the virus itself, has been limited but the reference laboratories at PHE will now be proactively conducting independent technical validations of commercially available assays. The data from these evaluations will be available on request to pathology service providers seeking to locally implement commercial solutions.

We are at the very start of this process and have responded to some of the companies that have contacted us.

It is unacceptable and irresponsible for tech companies to allow criminals to exploit their services and we expect companies to take action and report illegal activity to the police

A robust law enforcement response is a fundamental part of the Government's drug strategy and we are taking coordinated action to tackle illegal drugs alongside associated criminal activity. Law enforcement agencies continue to work with internet service providers to shut down UK-based websites found to be committing offences such as selling drugs controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.

The joint Home Office and Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Online Harms White Paper will be published shortly, setting out how we will tackle online harms and set clear responsibilities for tech companies to keep UK citizens safe.