Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what impact assessment his Department has undertaken into its changes to wheelchair services and the potential effect of those changes on service (a) provision and (b) users.

Commissioning responsibility for wheelchair services to support patients with complex physical disabilities will transfer from NHS England to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) from 1 April 2015. CCGs already commission all other wheelchair services.

Ministers made the decision to transfer commissioning responsibility for this service following advice from the Prescribed Specialised Services Advisory Group, an independent advisory committee established by the Department, which considers proposals for changes to commissioning arrangements against four statutory factors. The decision was taken in consultation with NHS England.