Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to allocate funding for (a) secure data environments for data validation and (b) other infrastructure required for AI implementation in the NHS.

Secure access to data to accelerate research and development is an important lever in delivering the Government’s health and growth missions. Access to National Health Service data across England has been supported by investments in digital infrastructure between 2022 and 2025 by the Data for Research and Development programme’s implementation of Secure Data Environment (SDEs) at a national and regional level. The programme’s investment into SDEs supports the full spectrum of data-driven research, including artificial intelligence (AI) development. The budget for the programme for 2025/6 is currently being finalised alongside other priority NHS transformation programmes. Funding plans beyond 2026 will be agreed as part of the Spending Review.

Improved digital and data infrastructure, such as Electronic Patient Records, are essential foundations for digital transformation, such as AI. The NHS has one of the largest and most comprehensive longitudinal patient datasets in the world, making it an attractive location for the development and testing of AI. The centralisation of the healthcare system streamlines data accessibility, integration, and standardisation, all of which benefit the development and deployment of AI. Part of our work will be to create the right environment for the United Kingdom to safely deploy AI at scale, and to attract AI researchers and companies that both develop for, and sell to, UK health and care.