Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting times for NHS-provided wheelchairs for adults with degenerative neurological conditions.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the provision and commissioning of local wheelchair services.

NHS England is taking a number of steps to reduce regional variation in the quality and provision of NHS wheelchairs, and to support ICBs to reduce delays in people receiving intervention and equipment. This includes publishing a Wheelchair Quality Framework on 9 April which sets out quality standards and statutory requirements for ICBs, such as offering personal wheelchair budgets. The framework is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/wheelchair-quality-framework/

The Government is committed to improving care for people with neurological conditions and ensuring that they receive the support they need. There are several initiatives at a national level supporting service improvement and better care for people with neurological conditions. These include the RightCare Progressive Neurological Conditions Toolkit, within which timely access to specialist and personalised equipment, such as wheelchairs, is a key area of focus.