NHS: Wheelchair Services

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath Excerpts

Monday 24th November 2025 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the provision of wheelchair services by the NHS and social care authorities.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health and Social Care (Baroness Merron) (Lab)]

My Lords, integrated care boards are responsible for the commissioning of local wheelchair services based on the needs of the local population. NHS England has developed policy guidance and legislation to support ICBs to commission effective, efficient and personalised services. This includes a Wheelchair Quality Framework, published in April, which is designed to assist ICBs and NHS wheelchair service providers in delivering high-quality provision that improves access, outcomes and experience.

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Lab)]

My Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend, but does she recognise that the work by the Wheelchair Alliance and the All-Party Group for Wheelchairs Users would suggest that, if you leave this to local health bodies and local authorities, they simply will not improve the current inadequate and patchy service? The All-Party Group for Access to Disability Equipment has reported that

“63% of carers and 55% of equipment users said that services are getting worse”.

Given what my noble friend said about the quality framework, which I very much welcome, does she accept that nothing will change unless this is enforced from the centre, with strong performance management?

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

I accept the observations that my noble friend has made; I know he has been a voice on this for many years. I share with him the impatience for change and welcome the work of the APPG and the Wheelchair Alliance. The NHS Medium Term Planning Framework, which was published just in October, requires that, from 2026-27, all ICBs and community health services must actively manage and reduce the proportion of waits across all community health services over 18 weeks and develop a plan to eliminate all 52-week waits. I expect that wheelchair provision and services will improve through this as well as other means.