Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her department is taking to make transports systems more easily accessible for people with sight loss, to allow them to travel independently and spontaneously.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The government is committed to improving transport services so they are more inclusive and enable people with sight loss to travel safely, confidently and with dignity. As part of our broader mission to break down barriers to opportunity, we recognise that more needs to be done to ensure transport is accessible to all.
Our Bus Services Act 2025 includes a comprehensive package of measures to improve the accessibility and inclusivity of local transport. Through the Act, we are helping authorities to provide safer and more accessible bus stations and stops and mandating more streamlined disability training for bus drivers and frontline staff. We are also requiring local authorities to regularly review the accessibility of their bus networks through the development and publishing of a Bus Network Accessibility Plan.
The government recognises the concerns which have been raised about floating bus stops, particularly. On 20 November I wrote to all local traffic authorities in England requesting that they put on hold designs which require people to board or alight directly from or into a cycle track. The Act requires the Secretary of State to publish statutory guidance on their provision and design within three months of Royal Assent, drafting of which is underway.
We are also continuing the implementation of the Public Service Vehicles (Accessible Information) Regulations (AIR), which will require audible and visible destination and next stop information on board most local bus services by October 2026.
Ensuring the rail network is also accessible is at the heart of our passenger-focused approach to improving rail services. We are committed to improving the experience for disabled passengers and that is why we have published a roadmap to an accessible railway. It sets out what we are doing now to improve the day-to-day travelling experience for disabled passengers in the lead up to Great British Railways being established. We have installed platform edge tactile paving at every station in England with the final station in Scotland due to be complete next month. The final Welsh station, currently closed for refurbishment, will have them installed when it reopens in April.
We are also committed to developing an Accessible Travel Charter. The Charter is a commitment to a shared vision for accessible travel. It will set out what disabled travellers can expect from their journeys, share best practice across organisations and create consistency in end-to-end journeys for disabled travellers.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that access to information about the contribution of good eye care is readily available.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS.UK website sets out the importance of regular sight tests whilst also providing information about entitlement to free National Health Service sight tests. The Department also looks for opportunities to promote the importance of NHS sight tests, such as through National Eye Health Week.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what provisions he is making in the National Health Service to ensure that patients with long term eye conditions receive adequate practical and emotional support.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We recognise the importance of practical and emotional support for people living with long term eye conditions. Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities are responsible for assessing individuals’ care and support needs and, where eligible, for meeting those needs. This includes the legal duty for local authorities to support people with sight loss.
NHS England has published a patient support toolkit for eye care commissioners and providers which aims to ensure that patients with ophthalmic conditions are supported throughout their care journey. It sets out that whilst receiving care provided by the hospital, patients need information and support through diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment. Individuals can also refer themselves into talking therapies, which are widely available.
We are also taking steps to revise the certificate of visual impairment to improve signposting to local support for newly certified patients with a sight impairment or severe sight impairment.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans are in place to ensure that the medical records of deaf and hearing-impaired patients are appropriately marked prior to the introduction of the Single Patient Record in 2028.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Reasonable Adjustment flag is part of the NHS Spine, and professionals and their administrative staff can work with an individual to create the flag using the National Care Records Service, to ensure that an individual’s needs for reasonable adjustments are recorded and shared, to ensure appropriate support by health and care services. Work is continuing to allow direct integration of the flag with clinical systems, using the Patient Flags Application Programming Interface.
The Single Patient Record (SPR) programme is at an early stage of development. Inclusivity and ease of access is central to the vision for the design of the SPR, and the record of people’s reasonable adjustments, and their needs, will be part of the information made available to staff.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to introduce mandatory visual display screens in (a) GP practices and (b) medical waiting rooms to ensure (i) deaf and (ii) hearing impaired patients are made aware of their appointment.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has no plans to mandate screens in general practices. However, a revised Accessible Information Standard (AIS) was published on 30 June 2025, to ensure that people who have a disability, impairment, or sensory loss can access and understand information about National Health Services and receive the communication support they need to use those services. Nationally, all NHS organisations and publicly funded social care providers are required to be fully compliant with all aspects of the standard.
NHS England is working to support implementation of the AIS with awareness raising, communication, and engagement, and a review of the current e-learning modules on the AIS.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many BSL-interpreters were provided at the outset for patients seeking healthcare treatment in (a) Preston, (b) Lancashire and (c) England over the last 12 months.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The information requested is not held centrally. Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning services to meet the needs of their local population, which includes responsibility for ensuring that there is adequate provision of British Sign Language interpreters to support deaf patients in the community.
On 30 June 2025, a revised Accessible Information Standard (AIS) was published. NHS England is working to support implementation of the AIS with awareness raising, communication, and engagement, and a review of the current e-learning modules on AIS. The intention is to ensure that staff and organisations in the National Health Service are aware of the AIS and the importance of meeting the information and communication needs of disabled people using these services.
The AIS implementation guidance outlines support for people with hearing loss, and is available at the following link:
NHS England is rolling out a Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag which enables the recording of key information about a patient and their adjustment needs, to ensure support can be tailored appropriately.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the RNID report entitled Still Ignored: the fight for accessible healthcare; what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that the communication barriers and health inequalities for deaf and hearing-impaired people are reduced.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Under the 2010 Equality Act, health and social care organisations must make reasonable adjustments to ensure that disabled people are not disadvantaged. This includes responsibility for ensuring that there is adequate provision of British Sign Language interpreters to support deaf patients.
NHS England published a revised Accessible Information Standard (AIS) on 30 June 2025 and is working to support implementation of the AIS with awareness raising, communication and engagement, and a review of the current e-learning modules on the AIS. The intention is to ensure that staff and organisations in the National Health Service are aware of the AIS and the importance of meeting the information and communication needs of disabled people using services.
In July 2016, NHS England published the report Commissioning Services for People with Hearing Loss: A Framework for Clinical Commissioning Groups. This framework supports the newly established integrated care boards in England to make informed decisions on maximising value for local populations and providing consistent, high quality, integrated care. It also addresses inequalities in access and outcomes between hearing services.
NHS England is also rolling out a Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag which enables the recording of key information about a patient and their adjustment needs, to ensure support can be tailored appropriately. Guidance and free training on the Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag are available for health and social care staff.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish a timeline for when the NHS app will be made British Sign Language accessible.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has set out a commitment to make the NHS App British Sign Language (BSL) accessible in the 10-Year Health Plan, which covers the period to 2035.
Currently, there is no timeline for when the NHS App will be made BSL accessible. The NHS App roadmap is published and regularly updated, and is available at the following link:
https://digital.nhs.uk/services/nhs-app/roadmap
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many medical appointments were missed by (a) deaf and (b) hearing impaired people due to a lack of information support (i) at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals, (ii) in the North West and (c) in England over the last three years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold data on medical appointments missed in the format requested. Our Elective Reform Plan sets out the focussed action we are taking to reduce missed appointments, as part of delivering the Government’s commitment to return to the constitutional standard of 92% of patients having their first treatment within 18-weeks of referral. This includes enhancing communication between hospitals and patients, using the results of artificial intelligence to predict missed appointments, and targeting support to vulnerable patient groups, saving up to one million missed appointments.
The Elective Reform Plan and the 10-Year Health Plan commit to modernising care equitably and inclusively, including ensuring consistency in the availability of information, so that patients, including those that are deaf or have hearing impairments, are supported to attend appointments and have the best possible experience of care.
As part of this, NHS England published a refreshed Accessible Information Standard (AIS) in July 2025. This sets out a specific, consistent approach to meeting the information and communication support needs of service users with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss, and requires that relevant staff are adequately trained. NHS England is supporting implementation of AIS, so that staff and organisations are aware of the importance of meeting the needs of disabled people using services.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he plans to introduce a mandatory ID submission for people creating online accounts on anonymous websites.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government has no plans to mandate the new digital ID for creating online accounts on anonymous websites. We will be consulting on other ways people might want to use this ID by the end of the year, such as when verifying their age for accessing certain websites - but there are no plans to make that mandatory.