techUK health and social care programme: Q1 2026 in review
14 Apr 2026 12:37 PM
2026 is a period of deep change in the UK’s Health and Social Care ecosystem.
With the DHSC-NHS merger approaching to take shape, the impact of NHS 10 Year Health Plan starting to show its impact, the MHRA accelerating its approach to AI and software regulation, and new national scale programmes such as the Single Patient Record moving from strategy into delivery, public sector leaders are looking to engage with industry early and often, and is looking to techUK to support industry engagement .
Over the first quarter of 2026, the Health and Social Care programme at techUK delivered a sustained programme of 22 workshops, roundtables, briefings, and consultation responses that brought members into direct dialogue with some of the most senior decision-makers in the system, from NHS England's TSAS leadership team and Single Patient Record programme leads, to MHRA officials, the Office for Life Sciences, and the DHSC/NHS England Joint Policy Unit. This is what credible, influential, and cooperative industry engagement looks like in practice, ensuring techUK members are able to shape government policy and stay ahead of industry developments.
Workshops
The programme's activity this quarter moved well beyond information-sharing into genuine co-production with senior public sector leaders.
In January, techUK convened an engagement session with Sonia Patel and the NHS England TSAS senior leadership team on the Technology Blueprint's strategic mission. A second workshop in February shifted from vision to practical delivery, bringing members and NHS England leaders together through facilitated roundtable exercises to examine the readiness of current digital public infrastructure and how national standards, policy, and funding align with local implementation.
In social care, the Social Care Working Group co-hosted a process mapping workshop with Digital Care Hub in February, bringing care providers and technology leaders together to map the operational reality of day-to-day workflows and redesign processes with fewer steps and clearer ownership.
In March, four dedicated roundtable workshops with the NHS Single Patient Record programme team convened more than 100 industry leaders to explore the programme's strategic vision and its emerging technical architecture.
Across all of these sessions, members got the opportunity to actively shape the design of national programmes alongside the people responsible for delivering them.
Consultation responses
A major part of Q1 activity was techUK's coordinated policy advocacy on behalf of members. The quarter's most significant output was the publication of techUK's response to the MHRA's call for evidence on AI regulation, which drew on a dedicated members' forum in January and an in-person roundtable with MHRA officials in February. The response called for a dual-lane regulatory approach distinguishing lower and higher risk AI use cases, alongside mechanisms to reduce duplicative assurance burdens across the NHS. Subsequent meetings with the Chair of the MHRA’s National Commission for AI Regulation in Health , Alistair Dennison, already proved that our networks' efforts and voice are influencing the upcoming regulatory frameworks for AI in health & social care.
In March, the programme also hosted a member forum to inform techUK's submission to the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee inquiry on Innovation in the NHS: Personalised Medicine and AI, giving members the opportunity to contribute evidence and recommendations on barriers to adoption across the health innovation pipeline. These sessions demonstrate the collaborative nature of techUK’s members and the influence we have within the health & social care ecosytsem
Roundtables
techUK's roundtable programme brought members into focused, senior-level discussions on frontline priorities.
The quarter opened with an in-person roundtable on NHS connectivity with NHS England, examining reliable connectivity for staff delivering care in community settings and improving network resilience in primary and community sites. A further round of 1:1 meetings with NHS connectivity leads in March gave members direct, personal access to the teams shaping this agenda.
The Life Sciences Working Group held a roundtable with the Office for Life Sciences in support of the priorities and delivery of the Life Sciences Sector Plan.
In March, an industry roundtable on health wearables, data standards, and NHS integration brought together wearable device companies to explore where collective action could have the greatest impact on interoperability and adoption.
Each of these sessions offered members structured, senior-level conversation with the public sector teams making decisions that directly affect routes to market.
Industry briefings
Alongside its convening and co-production work, the programme delivered a series of briefings designed to give members early, practical intelligence on national programmes, regulatory changes, and procurement opportunities.
In January, a dedicated Single Patient Record industry briefing helped suppliers stay aligned on direction ahead of the March workshop series.
In March, an MHRA webinar covered the end-to-end regulatory journey for Software as a Medical Device, including classification, clinical evidence requirements, and strengthened post-market surveillance rules. A joint DTAC reform webinar with the DHSC/NHS England Joint Policy Unit provided critical intelligence on the refreshed Digital Technology Assessment Criteria, including a significant reduction in questions and alignment with NICE. Lastly, an exclusive briefing with NHS London Procurement Partnership and NHS England on Cyber Resilience closed out the quarter and provided direct insight into procurement priorities.
Looking ahead
The pace continues into Q2. The annual Health and Social Care Industry Dinner is scheduled to take place in Leeds on 30 April, welcoming keynotes from Lawrence Tallon, Chief Executive of the MHRA, and Dr Melanie Ivarsson OBE, Chief Executive of the Health Data Research Service.
The programme will also deliver member input sessions on children's social care AI policy, a deep dive on sector-specific AI assurance, and continued engagement with NHS Connectivity, NHS SPR, and NHS Frontline Digitisation teams.
This quarter demonstrated the value of belonging to a community that does not just track health and social care policy, it shapes it. If you are not yet a member, there has never been a better time to join. Get in touch with the Health and Social Care team to find out more.