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 review the value of NHS optical vouchers; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing those values to reflect changes in the cost of spectacles and contact lenses since April 2024.

National Health Service optical vouchers are primarily targeted at children and individuals on low incomes to help with the cost of glasses and contact lenses. The NHS complex lens voucher is a separate contribution available to eligible individuals with complex prescriptions who do not qualify for a main NHS optical voucher on income grounds.

The value of NHS optical vouchers and associated supplements is kept under annual review as part of the Department’s usual fee-setting process. No decisions have yet been made on voucher values or supplements for 2026/27.