HL Deb 08 May 2001 vol 625 cc186-7WA
Baroness Darcy de Knayth

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What additonal funding has been made available for the supply of electrically powered indoor/outdoor wheelchairs and wheelchair vouchers since April 2000; and what managerial provisions there are to ensure that the funding is appropriately spent on wheelchairs and wheelchair vouchers; and [H1,1990]

What expenditure has been earmarked for the supply of electrically powered indoor/outdoor wheelchairs and for the issue of wheelchair vouchers in England for 2001–02,2002–3, and 2003–04. [H L1991]

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath

From April 2000 the £14 million allocation for wheelchairs and vouchers was placed within health authority revenue baselines. The distinction on what can be spent on powered wheelchair and voucher schemes was removed so that users' needs can be met more effectively. Performance data on the continued progress of powered wheelchair and voucher schemes are collected on the Department of Health's common information core. We will continue to monitor the information carefully.

Baroness Darcy de Knayth

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What progress has been made in the supply of wheelchairs, indoor/outdoor powered wheelchairs and wheelchair vouchers since the publication of the Audit Commission's report Fully Equipped; and [H L2036]

What is their response to the report on electrically powered indoor/outdoor wheelchairs and wheelchair vouchers, commissioned by the Department of Health from the York University Health Economics Consortium, and, in particular, to its recommendation that additional and ring-fenced funding should be given to the National Health Service to provide greater numbers of these essential mobility items to severely disabled people. [HL2037]

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath

TheFully Equipped report does not discuss the powered wheelchair or voucher schemes in detail as those initiatives had been the subject of the separate evaluation by the York Health Economics Consortium. The Audit Commission's recommendations on wheelchairs were directed at local services and auditors appointed by the commission carried out an overview of the wheelchair services at 45 trusts. A full study was then carried out in 38 of these, and individual reports given to the trusts for their local action.

After careful consideration of the York Health Economics Consortium's evaluation of the indoor/outdoor powered wheelchair and voucher scheme initiatives, we continued the overall allocation of £14 million for wheelchairs and vouchers, placing it within health authority revenue baselines which are increased annually. The distinction between what can be spent on powered wheelchair and voucher schemes was removed, so that users' needs can be met more effectively. We asked all services to continue to operate a voucher scheme which offers 'users a choice in having a wheelchair which meets their needs.

A new framework agreement for the supply of manual and powered wheelchairs was awarded by the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency and began on 1 October 2000. This provides a wider choice of both manual and powered chairs is available through the NHS, including chairs made available through the voucher scheme.

We will continue to monitor provision of wheelchairs and vouchers to ensure that those who need it can benefit from this important service.

Baroness Darcy de Knayth

asked Her Majesty's Government:

When they expect to issue national minimum standards for National Health Service wheelchairs in England, as recommended by the Audit Commission in its report on disability equipment and services entitled Fully Equipped. [HL2038]

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath

The specific recommendation in the Audit Commission reportFully Equipped was for local reviews of current service standards for delivering wheelchairs and the introduction of local proposals to deliver incremental quality improvement programmes. Subsequently, a full study of the wheelchair service in 38 trusts has been carried out by auditors appointed by the Audit Commission and reports have been provided to the individual trusts. The Department of Health will have further discussions with the Audit Commission.