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:

My Planned Care was developed in 2021 and launched in February 2022. It is hosted by an NHS Commissioning Support Unit of behalf of NHS England.

My Planned Care waiting times are updated weekly, primarily through automated data management systems with minimal human resources. NHS England maintain the content as updated by each provider, which is part of a wider programme of work. It is estimated that between the waiting time weekly updates and the content maintenance, the resources utilised are less than 0.1 full-time equivalent per week.

NHS App functionality is available for: prospective record access across 5,163 practices, representing 82% of all practices, up from 0.2% in December 2022 with 15 early adopter sites; appointment booking in 5,892 practices, representing 93% of all practices; and repeat prescription ordering across 6,206 practices, representing 98% of all practices.

Practices can choose how to use this functionality to offer services to their patients. A roadmap for future development across the NHS App is published quarterly on the NHS England website.

My Planned Care is a web-based platform that provides waiting time data by speciality and National Health Service trust, for both first outpatient appointment and treatment. It is available to all, including patients, carers, voluntary sector organisations, patient organisations, Patient Advice and Liaison Service hospital teams and general practices.

The NHS App provides secure access to a range of NHS services including a user’s medical record, the ability to order repeat prescriptions and to book or manage appointments.

The data requested is not held centrally.

The latest statistics for the number of general practitioner (GP) appointments booked through the NHS App in each of the last 12 months up to May 2023 are as follows:

The latest statistics for the number of NHS App users who accessed their own primary care records through the NHS App in each of the following 12 months up to May 2023 are as follows:

Month Total Number of App Users

June 2022 4,876,826

July 2022 4,805,862

August 2022 4,914,399

September 2022 5,025,642

October 2022 6,021,545

November 2022 5,760,229

December 2022 4,791,390

January 2023 6,085,907

February 2033 5,860,341

March 2023 7,020,045

April 2023 6,353,840

May 2023 7,001,869

The NHS England Cyber Security Operations Centre (CSOC) monitors over 2 million devices across the NHS IT estate, identifying and preventing cyber threats. This includes monitoring the number of National Health Service computers using Windows XP and Windows 7, which stands at approximately 0.58% of the visible NHS estate.

The Department works with NHS England to monitor levels of unsupported systems across the NHS estate and to ensure that the risks are being appropriately managed. This includes taking regulatory action where organisations are not doing so. Where organisations are still running operating systems such as Windows 7 or Windows XP, such as on some large, legacy clinical devices, they are required to implement additional controls to manage the cyber security risk.

Patients in England have a legal right to choose the provider for their first outpatient appointment following a general practitioner referral for many healthcare services. Patients may choose between National Health Service or independent providers. The My Planned Care platform was launched by the NHS in February 2022, which provides access to information on local average waiting times at a speciality level, excluding cancer, for all hospital trusts in England. NHS England intends to develop My Planned Care to provide a hub for patients for the entire treatment pathway and develop further integration with the NHS App.

As of 11 October 2022, there were 30,280,878 registered users of the NHS App.

The FCA does not directly regulate the activities of Symphony Communication Services LLC or any other electronic messaging platform. However, firms that are authorised by the FCA who use messaging services such as Symphony are subject to a range of applicable requirements, including the recording and storage of such tapes and electronic communications. The FCA is monitoring developments in relation to the use of Symphony by FCA-regulated firms.

The FCA is also in touch with regulated firms to monitor how they are using new technology in this area, and any risks that may exist.

Treasury Ministers and officials meet regularly with the Financial Conduct Authority to discuss relevant regulatory issues.

As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Treasury’s practice to provide details of all such discussions.

The FCA does not directly regulate the activities of Symphony Communication Services LLC or any other electronic messaging platform. However, firms that are authorised by the FCA who use messaging services such as Symphony are subject to a range of applicable requirements, including the recording and storage of such tapes and electronic communications. The FCA is monitoring developments in relation to the use of Symphony by FCA-regulated firms.

The FCA is also in touch with regulated firms to monitor how they are using new technology in this area, and any risks that may exist.

Treasury Ministers and officials meet regularly with the Financial Conduct Authority to discuss relevant regulatory issues.

As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Treasury’s practice to provide details of all such discussions.