Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking increase the number of optometrists in West Dorset.

NHS England provides an annual grant for supervisors of optometry trainees. This payment is an essential element of ensuring adequate training provision is available for new optometrists.

Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning primary and secondary eye care services and receive an annual allocation of funding to secure services to meet the needs of their local population. Any decisions about the recruitment of optometrists are a matter for individual employers.

We will publish a refreshed workforce plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade and treat patients on time again.