Contact Tracing: Computer Software

(asked on 27th April 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of whether the NHS contact-tracing app meets the requirements set out in the Human Rights Act 1998.


Answered by
Nadine Dorries Portrait
Nadine Dorries
This question was answered on 5th May 2020

The app will give the public a simple way to make a difference and to help keep themselves and their families safe. It will be one of a number of tools we use in the fight against COVID-19 but it will be voluntary. People will have the choice of whether or not to download the app and they will be able to delete it whenever they like. We intend to withdraw the app once the epidemic is over.

We will always comply with the law around the use of data and we will be publishing a Data Protection Impact Assessment in due course.

Everyone will benefit from the app because – if enough people with smartphones do download it – it will help to stop the spread. We are working with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to ensure that as many people as possible can access and benefit from the app.

We are reviewing when the app will be available nationally. It will be part of a wider approach that will involve traditional contact tracing and testing.

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