UK culture secretary launches own app: The future of MP surgeries?

Matt Hancock, the UK's culture secretary, has launched his own app, which he has named after himself.

Mr Hancock is also the MP for West Suffolk and has brought out the app in order to allow his constituents to communicate with him in an innovative new way, rather than only via the traditional weekly surgery sessions MPs hold.

He will be posting pictures and video clips of what he gets up to within his constituency for Matt Hancock users to view, while the app also features a messaging function, providing people with a new space to communicate with fellow members of their community.

As the MP explains in the app's welcome message: "It's a chance to find out what's going on both in my role as MP for West Suffolk and as culture secretary and, most importantly, it's a chance for you to tell me what you think and to engage with others on issues that matter to you."

So, could MP apps be the future of weekly surgeries? And might we see them being used more widely across the government?