Discussions of NHS digital topics, including NHS app: FOI release

Information requested

1. What discussions, if any, have there been between the Scottish Government, or any of its agencies, and the UK government (including its officials and agencies) in terms of learning from, or sharing the development that is in operation in England, either with regard to the app or the identity verification solution?

2. What correspondence have there been between either between the Scottish Government, or any of its agencies, and the UK government (including its officials and agencies) in terms of learning from, or sharing the development that is in operation in England, either with regard to the app or the identity verification solution?

3. Which specific parties within the Scottish Government and/or any of its agencies have been involved in leading these discussions?

4. Was there any offer to the Scottish Government, or its agencies, to enable Scots and the NHS in Scotland to use the technology developed for England? If so, what was the offer and what was the response?

5. Given that the app has been in place in England for some time, that the technology is currently being used within the UK and within the broader NHS and Scotland is far behind, has there been any approach from the Scottish Government, or its agencies, to ask if we can use the English technology?

6. Will the Scottish 'Digital Front Door' that is being developed give the same functionality currently enabled by the NHS England app and login? Will all these functions be available by 2026 and are they planned as a web-based system, a web-app, a native mobile app or combination of these solutions?

7. How much has the Scottish Government budgeted to spend on the Scottish ‘Digital Front Door’ up to 2026 and its launch, and how is this apportioned between internal development costs and payments to third parties?

8. Has the Scottish Government met with any third parties who have indicated that they would be able to develop the required technology?

Response

1. The Scottish Government continues routine policy level engagement with partners and stakeholders, including colleagues from the Four Nations, on a variety of digital topics. This builds on our prior engagement during the development of Scotland’s Covid Status app to ensure the different covid apps from the Four Nations operated together, and further direct engagement has taken place with the team within NHS England responsible for the NHS App.

2. I can confirm the Scottish Government does not hold this information and is therefore unable to provide what you have requested.

3. Discussions on the NHS App have involved officials from the Scottish Government’s Digital Health and Care Division within the Directorate General for Health and Social Care. Discussions on identity verification have involved officials from the Scottish Government’s Digital Directorate within the Directorate General Corporate.

4. I can confirm no official offer has been made.

5. I can confirm that neither the Scottish Government nor its partners have formally approached colleagues in England to use technology associated with the NHS App.

6. We are committed in Scotland to linking health and social care together in a way that best meets the needs of people in Scotland. Discussions are ongoing to confirm which functionality for the Digital Front Door will be developed, and what technical form it will take (such as web-based), to best support this need. The NHS App for England was developed to support the NHS in England utilising the technical systems currently in place in England, whereas we intend that the Digital Front Door will be a service that supports both health and social care that utilises the different technologies in place across Scotland. The functionality for Digital Front Door will therefore differ in that regard.

7. The Scottish Government commissioned NHS Education Scotland (NES) to progress development of the Digital Front Door as part of the wider National Digital Platform. All funding was provided to NES annually for the Digital Front Door Programme, as follows:

2021/22 – £0.75m
2022/23 – £2m
2023/24 – £1.5m

8. The Scottish Government’s Digital Health and Care Directorate routinely engages with suppliers and wider industry to understand latest developments and technology across all aspects of Health and Care. You can find out more about this engagement in our Delivery Plan, as well as in our Digital Health and Care and Data Strategies.

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