Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that rural GP practices have access to high-speed broadband to support their full participation in the Electronic Prescription Service.

The Department of Health and Social Care does not have responsibility for the rollout of access to high speed broadband. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport leads on the introduction of a broadband Universal Service Obligation.

The Department of Health and Social Care is, through NHS Digital, ensuring general practitioner (GP) practices are able to access the best available broadband services through the Health and Social Care Network programme.

The ability of GP practices to use the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) is important to fully realise the benefits of the system to provide a more efficient and cost effective service. EPS is currently deployed to over 92% of GP practices.