Current status: Answered by Neil Gray on 24 February 2026
To ask the Scottish Government, further to its publication, Our Health and Social Care App: MyCare.scot - National Rollout High-Level Summary, what the total annual estimated cost is of building and operating the MyCare.scot app in each financial year from 2025-26 to 2029-30.
The Full Business Case for the Digital Front Door (DFD) programme has been approved and includes a range of financial projections over the five-year period, and delivery options. The wider DFD programme includes the delivery of the MyCare.scot app and all associated non-digital support that is required.
The DFD programme represents a significant, long-term investment in Scotland’s digital health and care infrastructure, spanning build and operation phases over a ten-year horizon. DFD’s purpose is to transform how people across Scotland access and interact with health and social care services, through development and delivery of digital channels including MyCare.scot
DFD encompasses more than the MyCare.scot app alone. It includes the design, build and operation of the underlying common and reusable platform infrastructure, organisational readiness across all implementing organisations, digital inclusion, equality and accessibility work, staff costs and ongoing service development in response to user needs.
The business case brings together capital and revenue needs for the whole programme and has been developed in line with best practice guidance for major IT and digital programmes.
Funding has been allocated to a number of delivery partners to support implementation of the wider programme. A total of £17.650 million has been allocated to NHS Education for Scotland (NES), including £12 million confirmed for financial year 2025-26. Funding beyond 2025-2026 remains subject to future budget approval through the normal Scottish Budget process. A detailed breakdown of expenditure to date is set out in the answer to question S6W-39294 on 29 July 2025.
The costs of MyCare.scot cannot be isolated from the wider DFD programme costs without misrepresenting the programmes overall scope. These figures therefore reflect the full DFD programme, of which MyCare.scot is the central delivery:
2026-27 - Capital £10.4m, Revenue £28.3m
2027-28 - Capital £9.7m, Revenue £31.2m
2028-29 - Capital £3.2m, Revenue £28.5m
2029-30 - Capital £3.2m, Revenue £21.1m
These estimated figures exclude optimism bias, which has been considered as part of the Business Case process, in line with best practice guidance.
The Digital Front Door programme is aligned with the Scottish Government Service Reform agenda and supports delivery of the Operational Improvement Plan, the Population Health Framework, and the Health and Social Care Service Reform Framework. It contributes to improving access to services, strengthening workforce capability and supporting sustainable reform across health and social care.
All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.