Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Defence on integrating commissioning for veteran-specific hearing (a) treatments and (b) equipment in the NHS.

The Veterans' Hearing Fund was a time-limited fund set up in 2015 to provide support for veterans with noise induced hearing loss and to provide equipment not available on the National Health Service to support veterans’ wellbeing needs, such as peripheral devices to connect to televisions and telephones. This fund has now closed and there are currently no plans to re-establish it. Commissioning of general hearing services and audiology takes place at a local level, based on the needs of the local population.

The Department has not made any assessment of the effectiveness of the Veterans’ Hearing Fund, however following its closure, we have worked with NHS England to ensure that there is no gap in provision and support for those who relied on this Fund to support their clinical needs.

No discussions have been held between my Rt hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and the Secretary of State for Defence on integrating commissioning for veteran-specific hearing treatments and equipment in the NHS. The Government has not made any assessment of the impact of the closure of the Veterans Hearing Fund on NHS auditory services.

Commissioning Services for People with Hearing Loss: A Framework for Clinical Commissioning Groups was published in July 2016. This framework supported the former clinical commissioning groups and the newly established 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.