Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the benefits of the increased deployment of drone technology to deliver urgent medical supplies to (1) remote, and (2) urban, areas.

The Government is committed to innovation in drones and other growth sectors, with further information available on the GOV.UK website in an online only format, and work is ongoing across Government, including between the Department and the Civil Aviation Authority, to support the safe and effective introduction of drones into medical logistics.

The Department continuously reviews the available evidence surrounding the use of drones in medical logistics and is supportive of new trials to further build this evidence base, in particular regarding the benefits of the use of drones to deliver urgent medical supplies in remote and urban areas. Last year, the Department of Health and Social Care, working in collaboration with the Department for Transport, Innovate UK, and UK Research and Innovation, supported five pilot projects, allocating them a total of £500,000, to explore the use of drones in the National Health Service. Given the potential of drones to improve how the NHS delivers patient care, the Department of Health and Social Care is supportive of trials that explore the use of drones in medical logistics.