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 help tackle potential gaps in specialist vision rehabilitation monitoring.

Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities in England have a legal duty to support people with sight loss to develop practical skills and strategies to maintain independence.

Although the Care Quality Commission (CQC) is not currently required to assess vision rehabilitation services as regulated activities under the Health and Social Care Act 2008, sensory services, including vision rehabilitation, do form part of the CQC’s overall assessment of local authorities’ delivery of adult social care.

The CQC assessments identify local authorities’ strengths and areas for development, in their delivery of their duties under part 1 of the Care Act. This facilitates the sharing of good practice and helps us to target support where it is most needed. It may be helpful to know that the CQC will report on sensory services when there is something important to highlight, for example, something being done well, innovative practice, or an area for improvement.

West Berkshire Council was rated ‘Good’ by the CQC. Its assessment was published on 17 May 2024, and the report is available at the following link:

https://www.cqc.org.uk/care-services/local-authority-assessment-reports/WBerkshire-0524