Hearing Loss: Action Plan and Commissioning Framework

Thursday 30th June 2016 Westminster Hall

[Valerie Vaz in the Chair]

15:00

[Jim Fitzpatrick (Poplar and Limehouse) (Lab)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered NHS England’s Action Plan on Hearing Loss and the adult hearing service commissioning framework.

I am grateful for the opportunity to open this debate, and I am pleased to see you presiding over our business, Ms Vaz. I am also pleased to see the Minister and the new shadow Secretary of State for Health, my hon. Friend the Member for Hackney North and Stoke Newington (Ms Abbott), in their places. I look forward to their comments.

I am disappointed that there are not more colleagues here, but given events taking place outside, it is perhaps no surprise that their focus is elsewhere. I am, however, particularly pleased that my hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham South (Lilian Greenwood), who chaired the all-party group on deafness before me, is here. She brought great enthusiasm and direction to that role and formed the work programme that the group is still following. I am also grateful to the Backbench Business Committee for granting me the opportunity to have a debate on this important issue, and to Alex Adcock and Tom Powell of the House of Commons Library, the UK Council on Deafness, the Royal College of Physicians and others for their briefings, which have helped me to formulate my comments.

I would like to put on the record how much work is being done. I do not intend to attack or criticise the Government; this debate is an opportunity to seek clarification on some of the important issues concerning deafness and hearing loss. The British Society of Audiology, the British Academy of Audiology and others have commented positively on the joint working on the action plan on deafness and the collective efforts to develop an overarching commissioning framework for hearing. That framework document is due to be published on 19 July and will be launched here in the Commons. Today was the closest date for securing a debate to give the Minister a platform to confirm the progress that has been made and to elaborate on arrangements for the day. But I am getting ahead of myself.

I am grateful for the opportunity to raise some issues for the Front Benchers to comment on. As I said, I am chairman of the all-party group on deafness, following my hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham South. We have an active all-party group, which is well supported by colleagues from both Houses of Parliament. I want to put on the record my appreciation for Dan Sumners of Signature UK, who was seconded to act as the admin secretary to the all-party group. I commend him for his support; he has done sterling work in service of the group. We are very grateful for that and wish him well in the future.

On a personal note, I wear two hearing aids. My hearing loss was originally diagnosed as industrially induced from my time in the London Fire Brigade, but I am sure that age could be contributing to my present difficulties. I thank the audiology department of the Royal London Hospital for the support and treatment that it gives me when I need assistance. I also thank the engineers and technicians who maintain the loop system here in the Palace of Westminster, which is very good in this Chamber, as it is in most of the venues in the House. In the main Chamber, it can be a little bit unpredictable, but there are speakers in the Benches to help with any difficulties we might have, so we are well served in these buildings.

Hearing loss affects more than 10 million adults and 45,000 children in the UK, which equates to one in six of the population, and it is estimated that by 2031, 14.5 million people in the UK—approximately one in five of the population—will have hearing loss. The most common form of hearing loss is age-related, and the prevalence of deafness approximately doubles with every decade of life.

The Royal College of Physicians says that NHS England’s action plan on hearing loss

“recognises significant regional variances of early diagnosis and care for children and adults with hearing loss. The document sets out a commitment to design and deliver excellent, high quality care audiology services to meet patient need. The National Improving Quality In Physiological Services accreditation programme (IQIPS)—run by the Royal College of Physicians…assesses audiology services across England to ensure they operate safely and to a high standard. IQIPS is a recognised marker of excellence in patient care and in reducing variances in audiology services.”

I recently visited Auditory Verbal in south London and attended its event held here in the Palace of Westminster. It demonstrated that the earliest diagnosis and treatment can help children who are born deaf or suffer severe hearing loss to learn to communicate normally, by using the brief window of the very early years to stimulate the auditory part of the brain before it loses the opportunity to develop. I commend Auditory Verbal for the work that it does. If the Minister is not familiar with that organisation and has not had the chance to visit it, I strongly recommend that he does so, because it is an inspiring experience. There are a lot of great people around the country working with and for that organisation.

Officers of the all-party group were grateful to the Minister for the opportunity to meet him recently to discuss the action plan and to ask about the commissioning framework. This debate is a continuation of that dialogue. We raised a number of issues, such as the provision of hearing aids; a national screening programme; promoting the prevention of hearing loss; providing innovative models of care; active support for people with hearing loss; and the recognition of British sign language.

The action plan addresses those issues and sets out five key objectives: good prevention to reduce the numbers of young people and adults with noise-induced hearing loss; earlier diagnosis to improve outcomes for babies with hearing loss and increase identification of children and adults in at-risk groups; integrated services; increased independence and ageing well; and good learning outcomes, including improving employment opportunities for young people and adults and reducing development and attainment gaps between deaf and hearing children.

The briefing from the UK Council on Deafness was very helpful in outlining the background to today’s debate. It says:

“This debate has been called prior to the publication of the NHS England adult hearing service commissioning framework. The framework will be launched in Parliament at 2pm on 19 July in the Boothroyd Room”.

I hope that a lot of colleagues will be able to turn up to support that event. It continues:

“The framework is an outcome of the NHS England Action Plan On Hearing Loss, published on 23 March 2015.”

All-party group officers told the Minister at our meeting that we commend the officials within the Department of Health and NHS England for their sterling work in drafting the report and bringing together the commissioning framework. There are a lot of great people doing great work. I have met and listened to a number of them in different meetings, and we are very grateful for all their efforts in this area of policy.

The UK Council on Deafness says:

“The aim of the action plan is to do more on prevention, early diagnosis and support for those who have permanent hearing loss.”

It makes the important point that the action plan acknowledges that

“without hearing aids people are ‘at greater risk of social isolation, and reduced mental well-being…there is a strong correlation between hearing loss and cognitive decline, mental illness and dementia’. The Ear Foundation has estimated the cost of untreated hearing loss to be £30 billion per year. It has found that hearing loss is associated with reduced income of £2,000 per year on average. Wearing hearing aids halves that loss. At least £25bn in potential economic output is lost each year because of a lack of support for people with hearing loss and deafness.”

The council also quotes Action on Hearing Loss, which

“has found that people wait on average 10 years to seek help after they first notice symptoms of hearing loss. Only a third of people who need hearing aids have them, leaving 4 million people with unmet needs. Yet hearing aids are shown to improve quality of life, and 90 per cent of people continue to use and benefit from hearing aids.”

The UK Council on Deafness also raises the issue of cuts in the provision of hearing aids, pointing out that some clinical commissioning groups proposed limiting access to hearing aids in 2015-16. Following a campaign, most decided to halt those proposals as the commissioning framework was being developed. However, North Staffordshire is reported to have implemented the cuts, and the risk of further rationing remains. Perhaps the Minister will comment on that.

The council also comments that in January, the national screening committee decided not to recommend an adult hearing screening programme. The all-party group has also made that point to the Minister. We fell that without an assessment of the scope and size of the problem, and of the quality of the response from NHS trusts across England, a question mark was left over whether hearing loss was being adequately assessed and the quality of provision adequately outlined.

On the recognition of British sign language, the UK Council on Deafness says that deafness has been put firmly on the agenda by the British Sign Language (Scotland) Act 2015 and the announcement by the Northern Ireland Executive that it plans to bring forward legislation relating to British and Irish sign languages. Perhaps the Minister will comment on BSL. There is a campaign for recognition in England, as there has been in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

As chair of the all-party group, I should put on the record my thanks—I am sure I echo the thoughts of my hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham South from when she was chair—to colleagues from both Houses who support the group so positively. The Minister knows from the parliamentary questions that come across his desk and from occasional debates and early-day motions that deafness is a matter of interest in the Commons. However, the number of parliamentary actions that my colleagues and I initiate do not reflect the importance of the matter or the number of people affected in this country. I hope that our efforts today and the positive progress that the Government and NHS England are making will reassure the people affected, and those campaigning with them and on their behalf, that the Government and NHS England recognise the condition of hearing loss and that it is being addressed.

As I started by saying, the all-party group requested this debate to demonstrate how much NHS England has done, to raise matters of ongoing interest or concern and to see what more we could solicit from the Minister on the issues that he knows are live within NHS England and the Department. I know he is very much on top of his brief, and I look forward to his comments. We look forward to 19 July and the publication and launch of the framework document, so that the provision for people suffering hearing loss can be not only understood but maintained and improved.

15:13

[Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab)]

It is a great pleasure to see you in the chair today, Ms Vaz, and to have the opportunity to speak in Westminster Hall for the first time in a while.

I want to begin by congratulating my hon. Friend the Member for Poplar and Limehouse (Jim Fitzpatrick) on securing today’s date and on the excellent work that he is doing to lead the all-party group on deafness. I am very proud to represent a constituency that is home to the national charity, the Ear Foundation, of which I am a patron. We are also home to the Medical Research Council’s Institute for Hearing Research, the Biomedical Research Unit on Hearing and the excellent audiology department of Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust. Their work is outstanding and makes a huge contribution to our understanding of hearing loss and deafness in the UK and of the ways in which we can best support those with hearing difficulties to fulfil their potential and live the lives they choose.

Back in November 2013, I secured an Adjournment debate on hearing loss in adulthood and I pressed the then Minister, the right hon. Member for North Norfolk (Norman Lamb), to get on with publishing the long-awaited action plan on hearing loss and to monitor its implementation. When it was published in March 2015, it was welcomed on both sides of the House and by everyone with an interest in hearing issues. It sets out clearly the high personal, societal and economic costs of hearing loss—the case for action—and the action that needs to be taken: better prevention, early diagnosis and the right provision of support and services.

As my hon. Friend the Member for Poplar and Limehouse has set out, the case for action is huge: 11 million people in the UK are currently affected by hearing loss; that is 1 in 6 of us, which translates to about 10,000 of our constituents. With an ageing population, both that number and the proportion of us affected is rising fast. But it is not simply the numbers affected that makes this a major public health issue; it is the significant impact that untreated hearing loss has on people’s health and wellbeing.

To communicate is to be part of society. Losing one’s hearing is not simply about the absence of sound. If not addressed, hearing loss becomes the loss of our capacity to take part in social life. It is a 24/7 condition and in most cases there is no cure, so it is no exaggeration to say that it can destroy lives. Because communication is at the core of human experience, people with hearing loss can find it very difficult to negotiate everyday interactions, whether in the workplace, on the bus, at the supermarket or in the local doctor’s surgery. It can lead to isolation and exclusion. It can also damage personal relationships. Many deaf people report finding it difficult to join in with family conversations and jokes. Couples say they feel more distant from each other and from their friends; and partners of people with a hearing problem describe feelings of loneliness and frustration.

Travelling on public transport becomes a challenge. A minor problem such as a platform alteration or a delayed connection can become a major problem if you miss the announcement. That can leave deaf people feeling anxious and vulnerable and worried about being left stranded or lost. Failure to address hearing problems does not just affect individuals and their families; it has implications for society as a whole.

It is estimated that hearing loss costs the UK economy £25 billion a year in lost productivity and unemployment. Too many people are forced to resign, retire early or take redundancy as a result of their disability. Of the 300,000 people of working age with severe hearing impairment, 20% report being unemployed and seeking work, and another 10% report that they cannot seek work owing to their ill health. As the state pension age rises and more jobs depend on people’s communication skills than was the case 20 or 30 years ago, such vulnerability to unemployment is a growing problem.

Research shows that hearing loss is also linked to other health problems, doubling the risk of developing depression and increasing the risk of anxiety and other mental health difficulties. There is also increasing evidence of links between hearing loss and dementia and evidence linking hearing loss to learning disabilities, diabetes, stroke and obesity. That is the bad news. The good news is the incontrovertible evidence that hearing aids and other technologies, including cochlear implants, improve people’s ability to communicate and their quality of life. They reduce the risk of depression and other health problems. But early intervention is key to maximising the benefits, so we must address issues relating to early diagnosis, prompt referral to high-quality audiology services and appropriate provision of hearing aids and other interventions.

Hearing aids are most effective when they are fitted early, but on average, as the my hon. Friend the Member for Poplar and Limehouse said, people wait 10 years before seeking help, and when they do eventually seek help, GPs fail to refer 45% of those reporting problems with their hearing to NHS audiology services. That is why I was so disappointed that the national screening committee decided not to recommend an adult hearing screening programme that could have helped us to address the issue.

I am sure the Minister has read the research report by Action on Hearing Loss and the Ear Foundation—I have it here—which posed the question, “Adult Hearing Screening: can we afford to wait any longer?” If he has not, he is welcome to have my copy. Their evidence tells us that the answer to the question is a resounding no. I hope the Minister will agree to look again at that evidence.

The idea that people do not wear their hearing aids and keep them in a drawer is outdated. Today’s technologies are accepted and are worn, although the more we can do to improve follow-up care and reduce stigma, the better. Tackling hearing loss is cost-effective. We cannot afford to wait years for a randomised controlled trial. We should be acting now.

We are also very concerned, of course, about the risk of rationing access to hearing aids, as local health commissioners’ budgets are under intense pressure. In fact, the report on NHS audiology across the UK published by Action on Hearing Loss and entitled “Under Pressure” showed that 30% of NHS audiology providers had had their budgets reduced. Along with increased demand, that had led to two fifths of providers making service reductions, resulting in longer waiting times, fewer follow-up appointments and reduced availability of home visits. In a small number of cases, providers were not providing two hearing aids to patients with hearing loss in both ears.

Worse still, as everyone is aware, North Staffordshire clinical commissioning group decided in March last year to stop funding free NHS hearing aids altogether for those with mild hearing loss. There was a fear that others would follow it in doing that, but so far, as a result of significant campaigning by Action on Hearing Loss and many others, that has not happened. South Staffordshire, South Norfolk, Kernow and Mid Essex CCGs, which had all signalled their intention to restrict hearing aid provision, have now decided otherwise, or have at least delayed a decision until the national commissioning framework is published. However, three CCGs in Worcestershire are currently consulting on potential changes to local health services—including a proposal to cut NHS hearing aid provision; so there is still a threat to services.

When I asked the then Minister, the hon. Member for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich (Dr Poulter), about the North Staffs decision, he told me:

“If the hon. Lady has concerns about local commissioning decisions, she should take them up with local commissioners…It is important that clinical services are now designed and delivered by front-line health care professionals, and if she is concerned about them, I am sure she will take that up with her local CCG.”—[Official Report, 15 October 2014; Vol. 586, c. 407.]

I know that the Minister who is present today shares the concerns of the all-party group about rationing, and I hope that he can give me greater assurance that the commitments in the Government’s action plan will be more than warm words and will translate into effective action. The action plan and the commissioning guidance present an opportunity to improve millions of people’s lives, and I hope that we will grasp it.

15:22

[Ms Diane Abbott (Hackney North and Stoke Newington) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Vaz. I congratulate my fellow east end MP, my hon. Friend the Member for Poplar and Limehouse (Jim Fitzpatrick), on securing this important debate; I also congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham South (Lilian Greenwood) on her thoughtful speech.

As we have heard in the debate, hearing is at the heart of the human experience. I think we will all have seen online the short films of babies who, through hearing aid devices, suddenly hear their mothers’ voices for the first time. Those babies’ faces are transformed, and that reminds us how important hearing is.

There is much to welcome in the Department of Health’s action plan on hearing. The aim of reducing the stigma related to hearing loss is important. I think that sense of stigma is the reason for people waiting so long before they get the help they need. Designing public services and public spaces to support good communication is also important. Here, and certainly in the Chamber of the House of Commons, the design is good and hearing loss need not stop any Member following what is going on; but there is more to be done in other public spaces, such as cinemas, theatres and so on.

The action plan also seeks to provide better communication support and understanding in the workplace. That is important, because for people of working age I think the worst thing is the feeling that hearing loss is cutting them off from the workplace. The workplace is not just source of income; it gives people a sense of identity, self-worth and importance. For that to be cut off through hearing loss is tragic. The things that are wanted in the workplace are timely access to assistive devices, language support—such as learning British Sign Language or sign-supported English—and speech to text. Another aim of the action plan is that there should be more research into the causes and management of hearing loss and tinnitus. Tinnitus is a particularly alarming issue. It is sometimes written and talked about as if nothing can be done. It can be as bad for people’s ability to function in society as absolute hearing loss. It is important that we have more research on its management, rather than just accepting that nothing can be done about it.

An important aspect of the action plan is the promotion of strategies for the prevention of hearing loss, and an understanding of hearing awareness. Some hearing loss is workplace-related, and my hon. Friend the Member for Poplar and Limehouse said that his may be related to his working life as a fireman. Some hearing loss happens as people get older. However, we need strategies to prevent it, if that is possible. Early awareness, diagnosis and management is vital. That is why we think the issue of stigma is so important. We want person-centred planning that is responsive to information and social needs and that reaches out into all communities.

We should not assume that communities whose first language is not English will be able to get access to all the things that are made available. Many communities, particularly in the east end of London, are wary of approaching the authorities—even their GP. A lot of thought needs to be given to the sort of information outreach programmes that will reach people of every age in every community. In big urban centres in particular, if thought is not given to outreach and an understanding of early awareness, diagnosis and management, thousands of people in a given area will not be able to get the help they need. So we need person-centred planning, and timely access or signposts to communication support, lip-reading classes, hearing therapy, counselling, support groups, befriending services and assistive technologies. I reiterate that we must consider that we are not in a mono-cultural society. It should be as easy for a Bengali widow in Poplar and Limehouse to get access to lip-reading classes, befriending services or support groups as it is for a retired man in Nottingham. Finally, one of the aims of the Department’s action plan is to promote inclusion and participation, through ensuring that all public services are accessible, and to support language and communication needs. Those are excellent aims.

The purpose of today’s debate is to consider how far the aims are being achieved, and my colleagues have touched on two major issues that are worth considering again. The question of hearing aid rationing arises in the context of pressure on NHS resources. One way in which the NHS and CCGs are seeking to manage the pressures is by raising the bar before someone can get access to a service or to help. One of the most alarming aspects of that approach is its effect in mental health, where people must manifest more extreme symptoms before they can get help. It might seem to CCGs that rationing hearing aids is a less obvious form of rationing, because only the patients know or understand what has happened. Thus, as we have heard, since October 2015 one CCG—North Staffordshire—has stopped providing hearing aids to patients who have mild hearing loss, and it subjects those with moderate hearing loss to a questionnaire before it decides whether to provide them with a hearing aid.

As the Minister heard from my colleagues, it is not acceptable to ration hearing aids in that way. There is a danger that people’s hearing loss will get more severe before they can get the help they need. There are some exemptions, such as for people with dementia; hearing loss can make people more susceptible to dementia, physical disability or tinnitus. However the approach in question is not good enough. If the Government feel that we must have rationing in the NHS, we need clarity about that—it must be transparent and there must be debate. It cannot happen just because the Government feel that somehow they can get away with it.

Ten further CCGs have consulted on proposals to stop the provision of NHS hearing aids to patients with mild to moderate hearing loss, although none, as we have heard, has gone ahead with the proposals. Some are seeking alternative cost savings and others await the publication of the commissioning framework. As the Minister has heard, hearing aids are good value for money. The cost to the NHS of a pair of hearing aids and three years’ support is under £400, but the average price for an individual purchasing them privately is £3,000. In the part of the world that I come from— the east end of London—£3,000 for a hearing aid is prohibitively expensive. Furthermore, the sad fact is that 30% of audiology providers have had their budgets reduced in real terms over the past two years, and 33% said that increased demand is directly impacting on the scope or quality of the service that they can provide.

The other point, apart from the notion of hearing aid rationing, is to do with routine health checks. The charity Action on Hearing Loss commissioned a cost-benefit analysis of hearing screening, which found that screening everyone and providing support to those who need it at the age of 65 would save £2 billion over 10 years, for a cost of only £255 million. Low levels of diagnosis mean that two thirds of people are not getting the treatment and support they need. The research suggests that there is an average 10-year delay in people seeking help for their hearing loss and that, when they do, GPs fail to refer fully 45% of those reporting hearing loss to hearing services.

Hearing loss can be a gradual process. The stigma around hearing loss might make people reluctant to get the help they need, in particular as they get older and feel it is a sign of ageing to which they do not want to admit. Imagine, though, the reality for people who gradually and incrementally find their hearing going, and find themselves increasingly shut off from the world, the workplace, family and friends. Some excellent work has been done on the issue, and I await with interest the Minister’s response to the points that have been made.

15:31

[The Minister for Community and Social Care (Alistair Burt)]

It is a pleasure to speak under your chairmanship, Ms Vaz. Thank you for chairing this important debate.

Whatever else may be going on in this place at the moment, it is important that every now and again we return to what most people would regard as real life. As both Government and Opposition Members, we should give a strong sense of how we remain very engaged with matters that affect people every day. We will continue to do so.

I am grateful to my friend, the hon. Member for Poplar and Limehouse (Jim Fitzpatrick), for bringing the subject before the House. It is some time since we played football together—too long—and we will have to find another way to do that. I have great fondness for the hon. Gentleman, who represents his constituents well, and who has always raised this cause in the best possible way, being informative as well as challenging when in opposition. I appreciate his work, and the work of the hon. Member for Nottingham South (Lilian Greenwood), in particular with the all-party group, which is so essential to keep Members informed about what is going on and what we need to be engaged with. I endorse the thanks to those who promote and support the all-party group and its work.

I welcome the hon. Member for Hackney North and Stoke Newington (Ms Abbott) to her role as the shadow Health Secretary. I thank her for her contribution today, and I look forward to hearing more from her. I appreciate the many burdens on her and her colleagues, so I appreciate her taking part in the debate.

The hon. Member for Poplar and Limehouse set out, broadly, the situation affecting the action plan and looked forward to the next stage, including the commissioning framework, which I will touch on. He spoke about the practicalities of life, paying tribute to those who put in the loop systems, and about how well technology has improved over the years—a sentiment I share. He made reference to a couple of specific topics that I will cover.

The hon. Member for Nottingham South did the same and spoke about the effects of deafness. Some years ago, as colleagues might be aware, I was Minister with responsibility for people with disabilities, and when she spoke about the importance of communication, I remember in particular a visit I made to Sense, the deaf-blind charity, at its premises in Peterborough, where I was introduced to a number of people. The importance and value of communication were brought home to me when I engaged with one particular gentleman, who understood what people were saying because he put his finger on their lips to follow the conversation. He could not see or hear, but his finger on their lips meant that he could follow the shape of the mouth. He then tapped out his reply on the back of his carer’s hand. Think how easily we communicate, at the drop of a hat, and see what someone was prepared to do because he was desperate to communicate. That reminds us of the absolute value of communication to human life and existence. I remember that example to this day, even 20 years on.

When the hon. Lady and other colleagues were talking about what being deaf means, how it affects life, how hearing and communication are a vital part of people’s existence, and about the absence of those and the difficulty that it brings, they brought home to me just how important the subject is. That is why I value the debate, and I am grateful to the Backbench Business Committee for allowing it and to the hon. Member for Poplar and Limehouse for securing it.

The shadow Secretary of State for Health also raised matters of rationing, financing and screening, so I will now cover those with my prepared remarks.

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on securing the debate on NHS England’s action plan on hearing loss and the adult hearing service commissioning framework. The advent of the commissioning framework on 19 July will mark an important milestone. I share his sense that it is an important event. We hope that many people will come to the launch. It is only right, therefore, that we come together to discuss the opportunities and challenges that the publication presents.

As colleagues have mentioned, hearing loss is widespread. More than 10 million people in the UK are affected, and our rapidly ageing population means that that number is set to grow. As mentioned, projections show that by 2031 there will be more than 14.5 million people with hearing loss in the UK. Those demographics alone provide compelling evidence for why the UK needs to step up its response to hearing loss to enable further research, to take action on prevention and to enable people with hearing loss to access the services and support they need.

The Department of Health and NHS England’s action plan on hearing loss, published in March 2015, recognises the impact of deafness and hearing loss on individuals and society as a whole. Crucially, in my view, the plan accepts that hearing loss is not only a health issue, as we have been saying, but a cultural one. Tackling that societal challenge requires an integrated approach across the public, private and third sectors.

NHS England is therefore committed to delivering 20 outcome measures across five key areas, which have been touched on: prevention; early diagnosis; patient-centred, integrated management; ensuring that those diagnosed do not need unscheduled care or become isolated; and enabling inclusion and participation. That work will be spearheaded by a range of multidisciplinary groups with cross-sector representation.

The publication of the plan heralded an important new chapter in driving essential improvements, but we know that there are significant challenges for hearing services. Adults with hearing loss wait, on average, 10 years before they seek help—again, as colleagues have said—and, when they do visit their GP, 30% to 45% are not referred on for a hearing assessment. We know about significant unmet need and variation in services. For example, only about two fifths of people who need hearing aids have them. I have also heard some disquieting anecdotal accounts that some clinical commissioning groups have been taking difficult decisions and considering the rationing of hearing loss services.

Some of the news is helpful, such as the statistics on when referrals are made and things move forward. In 2013-14, 84% of people seen were seen within 16 days of referral; 92% were fitted with hearing aids within 20 days; 97% had their first follow-up within 70 days; and 800 different types of hearing aid were available from the NHS supply chain. So once someone is in the system, things are available, but we want to improve the provision of services.

[Jim Fitzpatrick]

Will the Minister give way?

[Alistair Burt]

I was about to come on to rationing, but I am happy to give way at this stage.

[Jim Fitzpatrick]

My hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham South (Lilian Greenwood) mentioned—I think this was in my notes, and the Minister just repeated it—the numbers who are not referred on by GPs. I have not got to the bottom of why that is. GPs are not auditory specialists, so we would think that if someone comes to them and presents with audiological problems, the logical thing would be to send them to their local trust, who are the experts and have sound-proof booths, technicians and specialists, to identify and assess the nature of the problem. I have read that figure a couple of times. but I have not got to the bottom of why they are not being referred. I am not sure whether the Minister will have an answer, but I thought I would raise that point.

[Alistair Burt]

I must confess that I do not have an answer. He makes a perfectly fair point. Whether or not that is what people raise at the time they are in the surgery or whether they recognise it themselves or minimise it by saying, “I’m just getting old” or whatever, I do not know. I will make an inquiry and see what research we have at present. Family practitioner care and GP services are under constant review, and we have a number of different pilots and vanguards looking at the provision of primary care services.

I will see what emphasis is being given to this particular aspect. Certainly we recognise that the demographics indicate that all issues associated with getting older, which can include hearing loss, are rising up the scale and the agenda. I will make specific inquiry about whatever reasons we have at present in relation to this matter and write to each of the hon. Members present to give that information. I am very happy to do that.

[Lilian Greenwood]

I wonder whether the Minister thinks there is a role for raising public awareness to empower patients not just so that we improve GPs’ understanding—that might be the issue—but so that people are a bit more demanding and recognise that hearing loss is not an inevitable consequence of growing old that has to be put up with but something that can be addressed.

[Alistair Burt]

Absolutely. Again, there may be more to be done through charities, the third sector, the Royal College of General Practitioners and perhaps the British Medical Association, certainly about the thing that people have in the back of their mind and do not always raise. Clearly, if there has been a sudden change, people may mention it. I suspect that part of it may be that people’s hearing loss is gradual. Perhaps there is an earlier stage.

All colleagues mentioned early intervention and perhaps there is a point at which it should be stated that hearing loss is not necessarily a natural thing that people should accept; it is something that they could and should do something about. My father is a GP and he always said that the most important part of any consultation was when the patient had taken their coat from the chair and put it on and was just leaving the room and said, “Oh, there’s one more thing, Doctor.” At that point, he always brought them back. I wonder whether, for a number of patients, that one more thing that they think they might not bother the doctor with is actually that: “I’ve just been getting a little bit hard of hearing. Maybe it is something and nothing” and so on. Perhaps that is something we could promote and say, “If that is your circumstance, do let someone know, because there is support available.”

Let me develop the discussion. We spoke about rationing services. I am aware that NHS England supported a recent decision from North Staffordshire CCG because it was able to demonstrate that its commissioning policy was evidence-based and had followed extensive public engagement. The hon. Member for Nottingham South was right to say that I am extremely wary of rationing early intervention and hearing aids at the very early stage. I fully accept all the evidence that says that it is doing something at that early stage that prevents something else later on. As colleagues have said, no one else has yet followed that. There has been a lot of challenge. It remains possible for NHS England to intervene if it thinks that commissioning has gone badly askew, but for now that has not been followed.

I will make a general—if slightly light-hearted—remark about resources in the national health service. Due to the decision taken by the nation last week, those who promoted a decision to leave the EU have promised, I think, £350 million a week—or maybe it is £100 million a week—to come to the NHS. My understanding is that that will not happen immediately, but perhaps in two or three years’ time we might see that money written into the health service’s baseline. It would be nice if that were to be. That remains to be seen. Certainly if that comes to pass, it would be one silver lining in the clouds of last week, but I suspect that that will not be a decision for me to take.

[Ms Abbott]

I want to press the Minister on the issue of rationing—I was involved in the discussions on the current reorganisation in my earlier incarnation on the Front Bench. Is he saying that nothing can be done until a CCG announces that it plans to ration, or is there any way—even under the reorganised NHS—of giving central direction to CCGs about that?

[Alistair Burt]

There is not a way of giving a central direction, because the whole direction of travel in the health service in recent years, as we know, has been to allow decisions to be made as close to people as possible. CCGs and the areas covered by them vary in the nature of their provision—there is variation in services, as we know—and if we were to go back to giving national direction on virtually everything and taking decisions that amount to micromanagement, as this one would, we would be moving away from that.

I will come on the commissioning framework and the action plan in a moment, but the commissioning framework should set out what the expectations are. However, it is right to leave local decision making to those working locally. Indeed, the recent decision and the pressure in other places have reminded CCGs of the importance of early provision, which has probably been far better than any directive from the centre.

[Ms Abbott]

So the Minister is saying that, in respect of the rationing of hearing aids, all we can really do is cross our fingers.

[Alistair Burt]

No, in all fairness I am not, because it has happened in only one CCG. It has not spread everywhere, and I think that is because the concerns that have been raised in the NHS and elsewhere have persuaded CCGs that they would not like to make that restriction.

To come back to the issue of resources, and to be a little more serious, the NHS remains under significant financial pressure. We have committed to making an extra £10 billion available to the NHS by 2020, as the chief executive has requested, but money will remain tight. Unless we want to go back to a situation in which everything is directed from the centre, we must leave local decision making to those closest to an area—that idea will remain in place. To characterise that as crossing our fingers is not entirely fair, and it has not proved to be the case.

The forthcoming commissioning framework will support CCGs to make informed decisions about what is good value for the populations they serve, using an evidence-based methodology to determine policy. NHS Improvement has received expressions of concern about commissioners reducing prices for audiology services, causing firms to exit those services, and reduced access and choice for patients. So far, except in one case, those allegations have not been substantiated and no formal complaint has been made to enable NHS Improvement to consider taking regulatory action.

NHS England could consider any immediate concerns about a CCG’s behaviour at local level under the assurance framework, and there may be scope for NHS Improvement to consider them under the National Health Service (Procurement, Patient Choice and Competition) (No.2) Regulations 2013, under the pricing rules contained in the national tariff.

Hon. Members raised the issue of screening. I am aware that the “Hearing Screening for Life” campaign has called for hearing screening to be introduced for everybody at the age of 65. However, advice from the UK national screening committee—the expert group that advises Ministers on all aspects of screening—suggested that the evidence did not demonstrate that screening would provide any hearing-related improvement in quality of life in comparison with the identification of hearing loss in other ways.

That is different from screening for newborn children—I have seen some of that work in action. I went out to Hounslow, where I will always recall the three-week-old baby who was cradled in her mother’s arms and being tested by the lady responsible, who was watching for the brainwave patterns. The hearing test could only be done when the baby was asleep and the brainwave patterns were absolutely level. The care and consideration taken with that baby was really quite remarkable. We should be proud that that programme exists. Seeing such things in action—even in one individual example—really cuts through all the statistics. In that instance, screening is the right response.

There are, however, a number of other policy solutions under active consideration by NHS England and CCGs, such as better training as part of the ongoing work to support the uptake and dissemination of the action plan and framework, including better training for GPs to identify and improve the response to hearing loss in adults. That will feed into what we discussed earlier about better recognition at an earlier stage.

The hon. Member for Poplar and Limehouse raised the subject of BSL and sign language in general. My hope is that access to personalised information in appropriate formats and support for communication will improve because of the new accessible information standard, which is mandatory. All organisations that provide NHS or publicly funded adult social care must implement and conform to the standard by 31 July this year. More generally, responses to the Department for Work and Pensions review of the market for BSL and communication support for people who are deaf, deaf-blind or have hearing loss are currently being analysed, and the results will be reported this autumn. From my previous work on disability, I know how important British sign language is. It is a culture and a language that is capable of expression, of drama, of comedy and of all sorts of things. We discussed earlier the life and culture of people who are hard of hearing or deaf, which is very important, and we look forward to the conclusions of that DWP review.

NHS England, along with patient groups, charities, CCGs, providers and professional groups, set out to respond to some of the challenges I have mentioned with the forthcoming commissioning framework. The framework ensures that first and foremost, CCGs have a clear guide to what good commissioning looks like. It is designed to ensure that CCGs are properly supported not only to provide more consistent, high-quality integrated care to meet the needs of local people, but to make informed decisions about what represents good value for the populations they serve. A golden thread throughout the publication is action to be taken to help reduce inequalities in access and outcomes. The framework is a real attempt to deal with the issues of variation that we come across.

The framework underscores the value of co-ordination and integration. In a climate of financial constraint, improved understanding of prevention means that effective measures can be taken to improve services and save money. The framework encourages CCGs to utilise outcome-based commissioning to incentivise change and advocates improving patient access to and choice of services. Implementing contracting, pay and monitoring outcomes and referrals from all providers should ensure fair choice and drive up quality. That shows that we are moving in the right direction, but a lot more work is needed to encourage action and promote the change we all want to see across the public sector and across the age range.

System partners have shown demonstrable commitment to working together to ensure that progress is made to achieve the goals set out in the action plan. Although there is no one perfect model, NHS England and the sector need to continue to collaborate to support CCGs to improve value, innovate and build sustainable services. I also think that lessons can be learned and applied across the system from the valuable work of NHS England and system partners.

It is clear, as this debate has demonstrated, that there are passionate advocates out there who are eager to achieve the improvements in outcomes, experience and services that we all want to see. The publication of the framework provides us with the opportunity and the incentive for action. We all need to be on the front foot on prevention. We will only achieve gains through concerted action across all the partners in the hearing landscape.

I will continue to play my part in holding system partners to account for commitments made. Collaboration and partnership working at national, regional and local level are key, and the work of colleagues here in the House and the all-party group in ensuring that interests are constantly represented here will also be of great importance. On behalf of the Department, I am very grateful to the Backbench Business Committee and to colleagues for raising such an important subject and contributing to the debate.

15:53

[Jim Fitzpatrick]

Thank you for the opportunity to make a couple of closing comments, Ms Vaz. I am grateful to the shadow Health Secretary, my hon. Friend the Member for Hackney North and Stoke Newington (Ms Abbott), for being here today and for her contribution. I especially thank my hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham South (Lilian Greenwood) for her contribution. She demonstrated her complete awareness of these matters and her long-standing commitment to campaigning on them in her constituency and here in Parliament, as a former leader of the all-party group on deafness.

I thank the Minister not only for his response and the reassurances he gave but for the obvious personal commitment he brings to the role he now commands. He is held in high regard by many of us. We look forward to working with him, supporting him and encouraging him in his continued endeavours in this area. I am grateful for the opportunity to have this debate.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That this House has considered NHS England’s Action Plan on Hearing Loss and the adult hearing service commissioning framework.

15:55

Sitting adjourned.