Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations his Department has received about the proposal from North Staffordshire Clinical Commissioning Group to end the provision of NHS hearing aids.

A search of the Department’s Ministerial correspondence database identified 66 written representations received between 27 June 2014 and 2 September 2014 about North Staffordshire clinical commissioning group’s (CCG) proposals to decommission the funding of hearing aids for adults with mild to moderate age-related hearing loss.

The provision of hearing aids for adults with mild to moderate hearing loss is a matter for local commissioners and is based on the needs of the local population.

As such the Department has made no representations to North Staffordshire CCG about this matter.