1-14 of 14 results for subject:Software
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My Lords, last week’s catastrophic attack on Stryker by Iranian-linked actors paralysed supply of some critical surgical equipment across the NHS. Does the Minister agree that our total reliance on vulnerable third-party global medtech platforms is a serious security risk? How will the Government ensure in-house expertise and procurement software so that the NHS can bypass compromised commercial networks during such crises?
My Lords, last week’s catastrophic attack on Stryker by Iranian-linked actors paralysed supply of some critical surgical equipment across the NHS. Does the Minister agree that our total reliance on vulnerable third-party global medtech platforms is a serious security risk? How will the Government ensure in-house expertise and procurement software so that the NHS can bypass compromised commercial networks during such crises?
Cyber attacks across our whole government are extremely concerning, and that is why we have built resilience. On health and social care specifically, I can assure the noble Lord that, in 2025-26, we invested £75 million across health and social care; that built on the £375 million invested since 2017. When I had responsibility for the blood transfusion service, my own experience was that, where there was a cyber attack, we had the systems in place.
To ask His Majesty's Government how much money from the Frontline Digitisation programme was allocated to the NHS App in the financial year 2024–25.
To ask His Majesty's Government how much money from the Frontline Digitisation programme was allocated to the NHS App in the financial year 2024–25.
NHS England’s Frontline Digitisation programme was introduced in 2021 to support healthcare organisations to transition from paper-based to digital systems for patient information, clinical notes and access to data.
Its aim is to reach a core level of digitisation following minimum digital foundations, where the health service and the people who use it have digital services and access to the data that they need to effectively manage and improve health and wellbeing. NHS England is providing £2 billion to National Health Service trusts through to 2025/26 to ensure trusts meet a core level of digitisation and have electronic patient records in place.
My Lords, digital transformation of the NHS at pace is being held back by the number of vacancies for digital roles within the NHS, particularly when many people are going over to the private sector for higher pay. What could the Government do to deal with this, particularly regarding the inflexible Agenda for Change?
My Lords, digital transformation of the NHS at pace is being held back by the number of vacancies for digital roles within the NHS, particularly when many people are going over to the private sector for higher pay. What could the Government do to deal with this, particularly regarding the inflexible Agenda for Change?
The noble Lord is absolutely correct. Digital resource is well sought after. I was approving something just the other day which gives us more flexibility in that space, because sometimes you have to pay over and above to get people on it. As we all agree, this is vital to the future of what we are trying to do.
Lords motion to take note of the current performance of the NHS and innovation in the health service. Agreed to on question.
Lords motion to take note of the current performance of the NHS and innovation in the health service. Agreed to on question.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what security assessment they have made, if any, of the use by Government ministers of messaging services on personal communications devices for official Government business.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what security assessment they have made, if any, of the use by Government ministers of messaging services on personal communications devices for official Government business.
My Lords, for obvious national security reasons, it is not appropriate for us to discuss security matters in detail. However, there are appropriate arrangements and guidance in place for the management of all electronic communications, including instant messages, in relation to the Government’s business. All Ministers and officials are aware of the guidance around the use of communication channels. As with all guidance, we keep this under regular review.
My Lords, Conservatives used to criticise Tony Blair for government by sofa. We now have a Prime Minister who conducts government by Signal, the messaging app that can delete messages after five seconds and block screengrabs. How is this in accordance with official rules, which state that private phones must be used only in exceptional circumstances and that all government business messages must be forwarded to civil servants to ensure the highest probity in public office?
My Lords, Conservatives used to criticise Tony Blair for government by sofa. We now have a Prime Minister who conducts government by Signal, the messaging app that can delete messages after five seconds and block screengrabs. How is this in accordance with official rules, which state that private phones must be used only in exceptional circumstances and that all government business messages must be forwarded to civil servants to ensure the highest probity in public office?
My Lords, there are appropriate arrangements and guidance in place for the management of all electronic communications. Ministers will have informal conversations from time to time in person or remotely. Significant content relating to government business from such discussions is passed back to officials. Ministers will use a range of digital forms of communication for discussions, in line with relevant guidance on the handling and security of information. The Cabinet Office has previously published guidance on how information is held for the purposes of access to information and how formal decisions are recorded for the official record. Ministers are also given advice on the security of all electronic communications.
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.
We plan to publish further information about app usage and its role in the COVID-19 response in due course. This will include information about the number of users notified to self-isolate by the application as a result of potential exposure to a person who has tested positive for COVID-19.
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.
The intellectual property associated with the National Health Service COVID-19 app, including the risk algorithm, is retained by the Department. In order to promote transparency, the source code for the app is published under Massachusetts Institute of Technology licence. This licence allows the Department to make the code Open Source whilst retaining its intellectual property rights related to the development of the NHS COVID-19 app.
My Lords, I wish the Minister a happy birthday. So far, £35 million has been spent on the development and testing of the app, which is approximately £15 million more than any other western European country has spent on such app development. Other than the QR code, what functionality has that £15 million been spent on, which is not available in the app of any other western European country?
My Lords, I wish the Minister a happy birthday. So far, £35 million has been spent on the development and testing of the app, which is approximately £15 million more than any other western European country has spent on such app development. Other than the QR code, what functionality has that £15 million been spent on, which is not available in the app of any other western European country?
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.
To ask Her Majesty's Government (1) what assessment they have made of the call by Amnesty International on 16 June for Bahrain to halt the use of its ‘Bahrain BeAware’ contact tracing application; and (2) what representations they intend to make to the government of Bahrain to (a) remind it of...
To ask Her Majesty's Government (1) what assessment they have made of the call by Amnesty International on 16 June for Bahrain to halt the use of its ‘Bahrain BeAware’ contact tracing application; and (2) what representations they intend to make to the government of Bahrain to (a) remind it of...
The Bahrain BeAware application was introduced by the Bahraini government to advance contact tracing efforts and save lives during the Covid-19 emergency as part of its Trace, Test and Treat strategy which has received praise from the World Health Organization (WHO). We understand that downloading the application and registration as a user is optional entirely voluntary. Users not in quarantine or mandatory self-isolation can uninstall the application at any time. All users are informed of its use of GPS software before downloading. The Government of Bahrain have been clear in their assurances of user privacy through a fully encrypted and automated process. , Any Location data t older than 6 weeks is deleted automatically from the system. Users can also request that their data is deleted from the system at any time.
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much the NHSX centralised COVID-19 contact track and tracing application cost to develop to date.
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much the NHSX centralised COVID-19 contact track and tracing application cost to develop to date.
To date the cost of developing the National Health Service COVID-19 app is £10.8 million. Our investment in the Isle of Wight phase has provided us with valuable information that we can combine with Google and Apple’s technology in a new solution to support the entire NHS Test and Trace service and product that is right for the British public.
Will the Minister give a cast-iron guarantee that, as the app evolves, it will not use location tracking or seek personal identification information as a condition of use?
Will the Minister give a cast-iron guarantee that, as the app evolves, it will not use location tracking or seek personal identification information as a condition of use?
My Lords, we have no current plans for using geolocation information. However, we have an open mind on options for users being able to share data of several different kinds, and we are open to the idea of consumers making those choices.
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much the NHS COVID-19 tracing application has cost (1) to develop, (2) to test, and (3) to make operational.
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much the NHS COVID-19 tracing application has cost (1) to develop, (2) to test, and (3) to make operational.
The Department has launched the first phase of a large-scale, integrated contact test and trace programme on the Isle of Wight. This phased approach will allow us to learn about and improve the service as it is rolled out across the United Kingdom. We intend to roll out the National Health Service COVID-19 app nationally in the coming weeks. As the app is still in development, testing phases final costs are not available, and we continue to work with NHSX and HM Treasury to identify and agree funding requirements for the roll out of the app.
Matt Hancock has said that the app is to flag up our proximity to someone else using the app, not to track our movements. So why do the terms and conditions of the app request access to track our precise location based on GPS or network-based systems?
Matt Hancock has said that the app is to flag up our proximity to someone else using the app, not to track our movements. So why do the terms and conditions of the app request access to track our precise location based on GPS or network-based systems?
My Lords, the app works by using the Bluetooth tags which are shared once you have declared symptoms or you have had a positive test. It does not rely on GPS tracking. If the terms and conditions are broader, that is because we want to try to provide the most thorough set of conditions that encompass all
the data provided by the user’s telephone. However, I can reassure the House that it is Bluetooth tagging that is used by the app and the surveillance system.