Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of vulnerable users of telecare alarms who have (a) successfully transferred and (b) not yet transferred from analogue to digital systems.

There is limited data available on the number of telecare users in England and/or the United Kingdom. Our best available estimate comes from the TEC Services Association, who estimate that there are upwards of two million telecare users in the UK.

To improve our evidence base, the Department has commissioned an independent technical advisor, FarrPoint, to carry out surveys of telecare services providers and call handling services. This research is currently live and aims to identify the number of analogue and digital telecare devices in use.

The Department also works closely with the Telecare Action Board and Partners in Care and Health to monitor the progress of the digital phone switchover.