Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing on the NHS laser-guided shoes to people with Parkinson's disease.

No assessment has been made of the potential merits of providing laser-guided shoes to people with Parkinson's disease (PD) on the National Health Service. We understand this new innovation, whilst promising, remains at a relatively early stage in terms of development and testing. Good quality evidence from clinical trials would be needed before clinicians and commissioners could make appropriate assessments about the clinical and cost effectiveness of the shoes and consider their suitability for patients with PD.