Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will appoint a national clinical director to oversee the commissioning of wheelchair services for the NHS and social care services.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

There are no current plans to appoint a national clinical director to oversee the commissioning of wheelchair services for the National Health Service and social care services. Oversight of wheelchair services within the NHS and social care is provided by national bodies, that monitor different aspects of the market, and by local authorities.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the provision and commissioning of local wheelchairs services, based on the needs of their local population. We expect local commissioning to be informed by the best available evidence, including guidance issued by NHS England.

NHS England supports ICBs to commission effective, efficient, and personalised wheelchair services. This includes taking steps to support ICBs and wheelchair providers to reduce regional variation in the quality and provision of NHS wheelchairs, and to support ICBs to reduce delays in people receiving timely intervention and wheelchair equipment. On 9 April 2025, NHS England published a Wheelchair Quality Framework which sets out quality standards relevant to all suppliers regardless of Care Quality Commission registration status, as well as statutory requirements for ICBs. The framework is available at the NHS.UK website.