Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Lancet Commission's recommendations on hearing loss in the report on dementia prevention, intervention and care, published in July 2017, what assessment he has made of the effect on dementia prevention proposals to restrict hearing aid provision for those with mild or moderate hearing loss.

Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for the provision of hearing aids for mild to moderate hearing loss within their local population. As with other services CCGs commission, they should take into consideration assessments of local need and any relevant guidance.

To help inform and support commissioners in making local decisions, NHS England published, in July 2016, ‘Commissioning services for people with hearing loss: A framework for clinical commissioning groups’. The Framework acknowledges the benefits of addressing hearing loss in the prevention of conditions such as dementia.