Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the competitiveness of the market for the supply of wheelchairs to the NHS and social care services.

Oversight of wheelchair services within the National Health Service and social care is provided by national bodies, which monitor different aspects of the market, and by local authorities.

NHS England supports the integrated care boards (ICBs) to commission effective, efficient, and personalised wheelchair services. This includes taking steps support ICBs and wheelchair providers to reduce regional variation in the quality and provision of NHS wheelchairs. NHS England published a Wheelchair Quality Framework on 9 April 2025, which sets out the quality standards relevant to all suppliers regardless of Care Quality Commission registration status, and statutory requirements for ICBs. The framework is available on the NHS.UK website, in an online only format.

The Government has put in place a range of initiatives to help NHS bodies make informed choices about the products and the route through which they are bought. These include the NHS Supply Chain, a national body which is responsible for procuring and delivering the majority of equipment into the NHS. The NHS Supply Chain was set up to leverage the collective buying power of the NHS, to drive savings and provide a standardised range of clinically assured quality products at the best value.

ICBs are responsible for commissioning wheelchair services, based on the need of their local population, and for having sufficient expertise to commission high quality services. ICBs will assess the market when securing local provision. This includes monitoring service provision and effectively managing contracts with their commissioned providers.

Local authorities are responsible for providing equipment that supports daily living and independence. Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities are tasked with the duty to shape their care market and to commission a range of high-quality, sustainable, and person-centred care and support services to meet the diverse needs of all local people. This includes encouraging a wide range of service provision to ensure that people have a choice of appropriate services and equipment that maximise independence and put the wellbeing of the people who draw on care at the centre of decisions.