Asked by: Imogen Walker (Labour - Hamilton and Clyde Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate she has made of the potential financial impact of sending patient communications through the NHS App rather than by post on the NHS.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
On the costs of developing the App, I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 11 December 2023 in response to Question 5345.
On the benefits resulting from use of the App, I refer the Hon Member to the GOV.UK website press release from April 2025, which sets out a range of estimated cost savings and other efficiencies across different healthcare settings, and which is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/major-nhs-app-expansion-cuts-waiting-times
Asked by: Imogen Walker (Labour - Hamilton and Clyde Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the estimated total cost was of developing the NHS App.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
On the costs of developing the App, I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 11 December 2023 in response to Question 5345.
On the benefits resulting from use of the App, I refer the Hon Member to the GOV.UK website press release from April 2025, which sets out a range of estimated cost savings and other efficiencies across different healthcare settings, and which is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/major-nhs-app-expansion-cuts-waiting-times
Asked by: Imogen Walker (Labour - Hamilton and Clyde Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress she has made in enabling the approval of medicines developed without animal testing.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has responsibility for decisions on approval of medicines. In March 2026, the MHRA published a statement outlining its approach which included that, from January 2027, where a medicine has been developed without animal testing, the MHRA will review data generated by a developer to determine in advance of a formal application, if it agrees. Plans to implement this are well-advanced. The MHRA’s statement is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mhra-approach-to-medicines-using-non-animal-methods
Asked by: Imogen Walker (Labour - Hamilton and Clyde Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has received data from the Scottish Government on the average waiting time for a child autism assessment in (a) Hamilton and Clyde Valley constituency, (b) Lanarkshire and (c) Scotland in the last 12 months.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.