Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of people undergoing regular eye tests.

The Government recognises that regular sight tests are an important measure in preventing avoidable sight loss.

Free National Health Service sight tests are available to many, including children, people aged 60 and over, people in receipt of certain benefits and those people at particular risk of developing eye disease. There were 12.8 million NHS sight tests in 2013/14, an increase of 3.6% on the previous year.

Information about the extensive arrangements for providing help with NHS optical services and other health costs is published in leaflet HC11 Are you entitled to help with health costs? The Department also works with NHS Choices to raise the profile of visual health and promote the importance of regular sight tests.