Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to NHS England's 2023-24 priorities and operational planning guidance published on 27 January 2023, what estimate his Department made of the potential change in the number of people using NHS audiology services as a result of the introduction of self-referral.

No estimate has been made of the potential change in the number of people using National Health Service audiology services due to the introduction of self-referral. The introduction of self-referral for age-related hearing loss aims to streamline access for patients eligible for NHS audiology services where a general practitioner appointment is not clinically necessary.