Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to reduce waiting times for hospital hearing (a) tests and (b) aid fitting in areas where no community audiology service is commissioned.

Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Audiology services are locally commissioned by the 42 integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. Waiting times for audiology assessments are recorded through the national diagnostic activity and waiting times collection. This data is reviewed and monitored monthly across the ICBs and NHS England.

NHS England has been working to enable improvement in access to audiology services including through developing an improvement guide, endorsed by the British Audiology Association, which outlines approaches the ICBs can take to address waiting times. NHS England’s National Diagnostics programme has supported implementation of this guide through a series of webinars and case studies to share learning.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many integrated care boards have introduced (a) community audiology services and (b) self-referral for community audiology.

Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Information on how many integrated care boards (ICBs) have introduced community audiology services is not held centrally by the Department or NHS England. As part of an ICB self-assessment on the introduction of self-referral, conducted in September 2023, 26 ICBs reported having self-referral in place for community audiology in one or more services, with more ICBs reporting they had plans to introduce it later in the year, or as part of recommissioning arrangements for 2024/25.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the goods sold by online marketplaces are compliant with the General Product Safety Regulations 2005.

Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Office for Product Safety and Standards leads a national programme of regulatory action to tackle risks from unsafe and non-compliant goods, including from online marketplaces.

This includes test purchasing to assess compliance and removal of non-compliant products; engagement with marketplaces to understand the steps they are taking to meet their responsibilities under law; and taking enforcement action including serving Withdrawal Notices.

The recent Product Safety Review consultation includes additional proposals to ensure products bought online are as safe as on the high street. A Government response will be published this year.

Pension restitution for women born in the 1950s

Found: Yasmin Qureshi: Thank you, Chair and colleagues, for hearing our application this afternoon.

Found: Mr Ben Bradshaw Marsha De Cordova Christina Rees Graham Stringer Jon Cruddas Zarah Sultana Yasmin

Found: Mr Ben Bradshaw Marsha De Cordova Christina Rees Graham Stringer Jon Cruddas Zarah Sultana Yasmin

Found: Mr Ben Bradshaw Marsha De Cordova Christina Rees Graham Stringer Jon Cruddas Zarah Sultana Yasmin

Found: Mr Ben Bradshaw Marsha De Cordova Christina Rees Graham Stringer Jon Cruddas Zarah Sultana Yasmin

Found: Mr Ben Bradshaw Marsha De Cordova Christina Rees Graham Stringer Jon Cruddas Zarah Sultana Yasmin

Found: Mr Ben Bradshaw Marsha De Cordova Christina Rees Graham Stringer Jon Cruddas Zarah Sultana Yasmin

Found: Mr Ben Bradshaw Marsha De Cordova Christina Rees Graham Stringer Jon Cruddas Zarah Sultana Yasmin

Found: Mr Ben Bradshaw Marsha De Cordova Christina Rees Graham Stringer Jon Cruddas Zarah Sultana Yasmin

Found: Mr Ben Bradshaw Marsha De Cordova Christina Rees Graham Stringer Jon Cruddas Zarah Sultana Yasmin

Found: Mr Ben Bradshaw Marsha De Cordova Christina Rees Graham Stringer Jon Cruddas Zarah Sultana Yasmin

Found: Mr Ben Bradshaw Marsha De Cordova Christina Rees Graham Stringer Jon Cruddas Zarah Sultana Yasmin

Found: Mr Ben Bradshaw Marsha De Cordova Christina Rees Graham Stringer Jon Cruddas Zarah Sultana Yasmin