Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the 10-Year Health Plan, what assessment he has made of public trust in AI for use in AI diagnosis tools.

The 10-Year Health Plan and the Life Sciences Sector Plan commit the Government to making the National Health Service become the healthcare system in the world most ready for artificial intelligence (AI). The Department is testing AI in areas that cause the most harm to health and to our economy. Supporting clinicians to make faster and more effective decisions through the testing and deployment of diagnostic support AI has been one of the key areas of the Department’s work.

This Government takes public opinion on AI deployment seriously. The Department and UK Research and Innovation have previously held public dialogue on how the public feels decisions should be made about access to their personal health data for AI purposes. Insights from these dialogues have been used to inform policymakers and future guidance for both developers and adopters of AI tools in the NHS.

To bridge the gap between policy and practice and build confidence in AI for both the public and adopters, the NHS launched the AI Ambassadors Network in January 2025, allowing clinicians and NHS staff to hear from and pose questions directly to AI experts and regulators. The network already has almost 10,000 members.

In the UK, AI products used in health and care are regulated as medical devices to ensure patient safety and are subject to stringent requirements, including those laid out in the Medical Devices Regulations 2002, and robust monitoring by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, this year we will review regulations, and in 2026, we will publish a new regulatory framework for medical devices, including AI.