Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, (a) what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the NHSX trial of the Peppy app for pregnant women and new parents; and what plans he has to extend access to that app.

The evaluation report provided following the initial trial suggested potential benefits, through feedback from parents, in terms of reductions in demand for unplanned National Health Service appointments and improvements in parental confidence and mental wellbeing.

Following a successful bid for additional Tech Force 19 funding, Peppy seeks to build on the original trial through a further focused trial in a single Local Maternity System. The trial will provide support to a cohort of parents from 36 weeks gestation to eight weeks postpartum, integrating the Peppy service with other local services.

The evidence base generated by the trial will be available to local commissioners in 2021, to inform local commissioning strategies.