Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to minimise inequality across different wheelchair services provided by the NHS and social care bodies, and to ensure consistent delivery of a good quality service.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the provision and commissioning of local wheelchairs services, based on the needs of their local population, including the offer of a personal health budget to enable a choice of wheelchair.

There are a range of providers of National Health Service wheelchair services across England. ICBs are responsible for monitoring service provision and effectively managing contracts with their commissioned providers. We expect local commissioning to be informed by the best available evidence, including guidance issued by NHS England.

NHS England is taking steps support ICBs and wheelchair providers to reduce regional variation in the quality and provision of NHS wheelchairs, and to support ICBs to reduce delays in people receiving timely intervention and wheelchair equipment. This includes publishing a Wheelchair Quality Framework on 9 April 2025, which sets out quality standards relevant to all suppliers regardless of Care Quality Commission registration status, as well as statutory requirements for ICBs. The framework is available at the NHS.UK website, in an online only format.

The Wheelchair Quality Framework aligns with the Care Quality Commission’s assessment framework and supports the aims of integrated care systems to improve outcomes in population health and health care, and to tackle inequalities in outcomes, experiences, and access. The Care Quality Commission Assessment framework is available on the Care Quality Commission’s website, in an online only format.