Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve support for people with hearing loss in Yeovil constituency.

National Health Service audiology services are locally commissioned, and the responsibility for meeting the needs of non-hearing people lies with local NHS commissioners.

We expect local commissioning to be informed by the best available evidence, relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines, and guidance issued by NHS England. In July 2016, NHS England published the report ‘Commissioning Services for People with Hearing Loss: A Framework for Clinical Commissioning Groups’. This framework supports integrated care boards in England to make informed decisions on maximising value for local populations and provide consistent, high quality, integrated care. It also addresses inequalities in access and outcomes between hearing services. In 2018, the NICE issued the guidance ‘Hearing loss in adults: assessment and management' which aims to improve hearing loss services.

Under the Equality Act (2010), health and social care organisations must make reasonable adjustments to ensure that disabled people are not disadvantaged. NHS England is rolling out a Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag which enables the recording of key information about a patient and their adjustment needs, to ensure support can be tailored appropriately. Guidance and free training on the Reasonable Adjustments Digital Flag is available for health and social care staff.

In addition, all NHS organisations and publicly funded social care providers are expected to meet the Accessible Information Standard (AIS), which details the approach to supporting the information and communication support needs of people with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss. NHS England published a revised AIS on 30 June 2025 and is working to support its implementation with awareness raising, communication and engagement, and a review of the current e-learning modules on the AIS.