Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the General Ophthalmic Services sight test fee for opticians; and how many opticians stopped providing NHS services in the most recent 12 months for which data is available.

The level of the National Health Service sight test fee is considered annually, taking into account evidence provided by the optical fee negotiating committee, affordability for the NHS, alongside information regarding patient access to sight testing services, which continue to be widely available.

Although 254 contracts for providing NHS sight testing services were terminated between February 2023 and January 2024, 179 new contracts were awarded. There are various reasons why contractors choose to stop providing NHS sight testing services, including retirement, selling the practice to a new owner, and ceasing trading as a business.