Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 13
13
We asked our witnesses about the role of the NHS COVID-19 app in ensuring that...
Conclusion
We asked our witnesses about the role of the NHS COVID-19 app in ensuring that people self-isolate if they need to, particularly given suggestions that some people might delete the app or stop it being enabled in order to avoid having to self-isolate. The Chief Executive of the UKHSA told us that they were aware that some people were choosing not to use the app, but stressed that it continued to be important in alerting people they needed to self-isolate, and in passing information to large numbers of people quickly.22 The NAO reported that in late April 2021 around 16 million people had the app fully or partially enabled.23 In its letter to us after our evidence session, the Department and the Chief Executive of the UKHSA told us that the app had been downloaded over 27.1 million time since it was launched, but that they were unable to estimate the number of people who had the app enabled at any one time and therefore unable to provide us with more recent figures.24
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
2.4 To drive up engagement, the UKHSA has delivered targeted communications and campaigns to these groups and made testing more accessible. Through the targeted community testing programme, local authorities and their partners draw on local knowledge to reach underrepresented groups. This approach has taken testing to the heart of disproportionately impacted and underserved communities that may not otherwise actively seek out services. Further detail is set out in the UKHSA’s letter to the Committee of 16 December 2021.