§ Mr. HammondTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will set out his Department's expenditure on(a) NHS audiology services and (b) the NHS provision of hearing aids for (i) adults and (ii) children, for each of the last five years; [84302]
375W(2) how much his Department plans to spend on (a) NHS audiology services and (b) the provision of hearing aids by the NHS for (i) adults and (ii) children, in the current year. [84303]
§ Mr. HuttonThe Department does not collect figures nationally for expenditure on National Health Service audiology services or of the cost of providing hearing aids. However, around half a million hearing aids per year are purchased from the NHS Supplies Authority at a cost of £16 million. In addition audiology departments also purchase some hearing aids from commercial suppliers.