Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of people with diabetes receiving diabetic retinopathy screening between 2016 and 2021.

Between April 2016 and March 2020, levels of routine digital screening for diabetic retinopathy in England were approximately 82%. Due to the impact of the pandemic, this rate reduced to 67.7% between January and March 2021.

The National Health Service and its partners are ensuring that participation in diabetic eye screening participation returns to pre-pandemic levels and we will continue to monitor progress.