Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of abolishing local Healthwatch organisations on the transparency of patient feedback in the Grantham and Bourne constituency.

The Government greatly values the work of local Healthwatch organisations, in Lincolnshire and elsewhere.

The reforms in the Health Bill will strengthen the patient voice in health and social care by bringing it closer to those who make decisions, ensuring patients' views are more effectively reflected in decision-making and have a greater impact on services.

An Impact Assessment, which includes the abolition of local Healthwatch, was published alongside the Health Bill, and is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-bill-patient-safety-measures-impact-assessments

An Equality Impact Assessment on the abolition of Healthwatch was also published at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-bill-abolishing-healthwatch-equality-impact-assessment

No assessment has been made of the impact on individual areas.