Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many children in receipt of the NHS Special Schools Eye Care Service have had (a) a need for glasses, (b) another sight problem, (c) no previous known history of eye care and (d) a history of hospital-based eye care since its commencement.

NHS England have piloted sight testing and the dispensing of glasses in special schools since 2021. Between April 2021 and August 2024 a total of 23,832 sight tests were provided.

There were a total of 9,909 pairs of glasses issued between April 2021 and August 2024 as part of the service. Between April 2021 and March 2024, 859 sight tests were recorded with another sight problem identified, 14,048 sight tests were recorded where there was either no previous history or previous history was unknown and 6,083 sight tests were recorded where there was a history of hospital-based eye care.

The legislation that will underpin the roll out of this service across the country was laid on 28 November 2024.