Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 4
4
Accepted
Require NHSE and Department to set out plans for elective care digital transformation and IT connectivity.
Recommendation
We are not confident that the Department is being realistic about the immense effort needed to reduce NHS elective care waiting times, and see a significant risk that digital solutions are being treated as a ‘cure- all’ as the 10 Year Plan is being implemented. While NHS England and the Department for Health and Social Care have outlined an ambitious programme for future change, the current picture of performance for transformation is poor. The integration and sharing of digital records across the NHS is a key weakness and the NHS lacks some of the basics in IT connectivity, with General Practitioners, hospital trusts and consultants still working on different systems. With technology moving quickly, the timing and funding of digital change remains uncertain. At the same time, we are sceptical that digital change can satisfactorily reach all patients as there is likely to always be a part of the population who find digital technology and tools too difficult to use. recommendation NHSE and the Department should set out: • how the elective care transformation programmes are practically affected by the ‘analogue to digital’ shift in the 10 Year Plan; • how it will solve the problem of legacy IT equipment and ensure that the IT systems used in different parts of the NHS are properly connected; and • whether the 10 Year Plan itself has sufficient funding to deliver the digital transformation required by the plan.
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and states the 10 Year Health Plan is affordable, committing up to £10 billion for NHS technology and digital transformation by 2028-29, including an additional £300 million capital investment announced at Autumn Budget 2025. It also sets an NHS target for 2% annual productivity growth for the next three years.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation Recommendation implemented The government is providing record investment in the health and social care system. The 10 Year Health Plan is affordable within the Department of Health and Social Care’s Spending Review 25 settlement and sets out the reforms to make the most of this investment. In total the department is supporting the NHS to shift from analogue to digital with up to £10 billion in NHS technology and digital transformation by 2028-29, an almost 50% increase from 2025-26. At Autumn Budget 2025, the government announced an additional £300m capital investment for vital NHS technology to drive NHS productivity and improve patient outcomes. Productivity improvement is an integral part of the plan. For the next three years, the government has set the NHS an ambitious target to deliver 2% annual productivity growth, delivering £17 billion of savings for reinvestment in front-line services. Departmental budgets beyond 2028-29 for Resource Departmental Expenditure Limits (RDEL) and 2029-30 for Capital Departmental Expenditure Limits (CDEL) will be announced at future spending reviews.