Daily Update, 20 October 2026: Government says 38.1% of NHS chest X-rays were AI-supported in Q4 2025/26

The government says available data shows 38.1% of chest X-rays performed in the NHS in the last quarter of 2025/26 were supported by AI, according to written answers from James Frith, answering for the Department of Health and Social Care, published on Monday 19 October. Also today: what the Ministry of Defence has committed to two AI programmes, usage figures for the probation service's Justice Transcribe tool, and how many firms have taken part in the FCA's AI sandbox.

NHS chest X-rays: 781,000 AI-supported in one quarter

Asked by Conservative MP Dr Ben Spencer what share of chest X-rays in England were reported with AI assistance, the minister replied that "for the last whole quarter measured, quarter four of 2025/26, 781,000 chest X-rays (CXRs) were supported by artificial intelligence (AI) for trusts who deployed a CXR tool."

• The total: the answer compares that with "a total number of CXR performed in the NHS during that period of 2,052,110", and states: "AI-assisted CXRs represented 38.1% of the total."
• The scope: the 781,000 figure covers "trusts who deployed a CXR tool". The answer does not give a figure for each trust.
• NICE: the question also asked what NICE recommends on AI-assisted chest X-ray reading outside research settings. The minister replied that NICE "published an early value assessment for this technology on 28 September 2023", and that "The publication specifically referenced the potential for the AI Diagnostic Fund to answer the evidence gaps set out in the guidance and evidence generation plan."

A second answer covers the AI Diagnostic Fund itself. "Under the AI Diagnostic Fund, 66 trusts received funding to deploy an artificial intelligence (AI) tool into clinical practice. As of October 2026, 64 trusts have completed deployment."

The question also asked what evaluation of clinical outcomes has been carried out. The answer says: "Early data on outcomes was provided as part of a commitment to expand the fund to cover the remaining trusts." It points to a gov.uk news release for further information and gives no outcome figures in the text itself. The minister's own framing is that "the technology is enabling patients to receive follow-up diagnostic tests sooner, helping speed up diagnosis and access to treatment."

On our reading, the answers give a usage figure (how many X-rays went through an AI tool) and a deployment figure (how many trusts have the tools in place). They do not make claims about how accurate the tools are, and NICE's position as described in the answer is an early value assessment that identified evidence gaps.

MoD: £4.50m committed to FRONTIER, £8.1m to RAID

Two answers from Luke Pollard for the Ministry of Defence, also published on 19 October, follow up earlier answers on its AI investment fund and the RAF's NEXUS combat cloud programme. Asked by Ben Obese-Jecty for a breakdown of a £12.6 million figure given in an earlier answer, the minister said: "As of 21 September 2026, Project FRONTIER has committed £4.50 million in year to date. Taskforce RAID has contractually committed £8.1 million." Asked which company provides the architecture behind NEXUS, he said: "NEXUS was developed with industry support from IBM SixWorks", adding that "The Ministry of Defence retains ownership of the intellectual property associated with the NEXUS architecture and data-layer design."

Justice Transcribe: 1.6 million meetings, £7.9m expected cost to 2028-29

Catherine McKinnell, answering for the Ministry of Justice, gave usage figures for Justice Transcribe, which the answer describes as "an AI tool that summarises conversations between probation officers and people on probation".

• Usage: "Between 7 October 2025 and 14 September 2026, the tool summarised over 1.6 million meetings."
• Contact time: the pilot found "for 80% of officers surveyed the tool improved engagement with the people they supervise but the additional contact time has not been directly measured."
• Caseloads: "we have not measured direct impact on caseloads". HMPPS "forecasts" that the tool will "free up time equivalent to around 470 full-time staff and support per annum".
• Accuracy: a pilot evaluation included "a review of case records to assess the quality and accuracy of outputs", and found records "useful and relevant to case management, but Practitioners must review and edit outputs before saving official records." A national evaluation "is underway".
• Cost: the tool "is expected to cost is £7.9 million between 2025-26 and 2028-29", including "staff, service-running costs and contingency" (wording as in the answer).

FCA AI sandbox: 22 firms, then 21

A Treasury answer from Lucy Rigby, also to Dr Spencer, says the FCA's Supercharged Sandbox "had 22 participating firms" in its first cohort and the ongoing second cohort "has 21", while "17 firms have participated in AI Live Testing (AILT)". The answer says "participants in the first cohort reported building prototypes, validating AI models, conducting technical demonstrations and preparing solutions for future pilots." The FCA "plan to publish evaluation reports of the Supercharged Sandbox and AILT in Q1 2027."

Also: MiniMax M3.1 Flash

MiniMax rolled out M3.1 Flash on 19 October through its API, its M Plan subscription and its MiniMax Code app at $0.15 per million input and $0.60 per million output tokens; the company says "Model weights will be released later", so its weights are not yet public, and the benchmark scores it publishes are its own.

Why it matters

On our reading, today's answers share a pattern. Each gives a clear count of how much a public AI tool is used or what has been committed to it: 781,000 X-rays, 64 trusts, 1.6 million probation meetings, £12.6 million across two defence programmes. The measures of effect are thinner, and what effect data there is is mostly self-reported (an 80% officer survey, sandbox participants' own reports). NICE's assessment of AI chest X-ray tools is described as an early value assessment with evidence gaps, outcome data on the AI Diagnostic Fund is pointed to rather than set out in the answer, and the Ministry of Justice says the extra contact time from Justice Transcribe "has not been directly measured". The FCA plans to publish its sandbox evaluation in the first quarter of 2027.