Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to issue guidance to NHS commissioners to help ensure community eyecare services are commissioned across England to help improve equality in access to care.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning primary and secondary eye care services to meet the needs of their local population. National Health Service sight tests are widely available across the country, with no known access issues. ICBs can also commission enhanced eye care services in the community.

ICBs are required to work with local authorities to assess the current and future health, care, and wellbeing needs of their local population. They will then set out in joint local health and wellbeing strategies how they will meet those needs, which could include addressing any identified inequalities in accessing services.

The Department worked with the eye care sector to develop a standard clinical specification for the commissioning of Community Minor and Urgent Eye Care Services, and this was published in February 2024. The specification can be found at the following link:

https://locsu.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/1.-CUES-Service-specification-vs-1.43-Feb-2024.pdf