Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment she has made of (a) the effectiveness of the Kooth mental health app for tackling children's mental health problems, (b) the value for money of that app and (c) whether that app meets her Department's safeguarding expectations.

It is for local National Health Service organisations to choose which products and services they commission. We would expect local organisations to commission services which they deem to be effective and value for money.

A local Digital Technology Assessment Criteria (DTAC) assessment is required as part of the procurement process. It is expected that Kooth would only have been commissioned if the local NHS organisation had ensured it met baseline DTAC standards across technical assurance, data protection, clinical safety, interoperability, usability, and accessibility.

NHS England are reviewing the concerns raised by Members of Parliament and campaigners relating to Kooth.