Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help patients with the technological management of asthma.

There are a range of technologies available to help people manage their asthma. It is important that people are given the necessary support to use technology in managing their conditions, provided these tools have strong levels of evidence, and appropriate regulatory approval, for instance the UK Conformity Assessment, the Conformité Européenne, or compliance with the NHS Digital Technology Assessment Criteria. NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) are exploring the potential for the platforms for the digital self-management of asthma to be evaluated, although this is dependent on the technology readiness level, which would require good levels of evidence and appropriate regulatory approval. Guidelines developed jointly by the NICE, the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network, and the British Thoracic Society to harmonise the recommendation from each organisation are ongoing, and have an expected publication date of 30 October 2024.