§ Dr. FoxTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many electrically powered indoor/outdoor wheelchairs have been made available in each year since 1997; [27348]
(2) how much the NHS has spent on the provision of electrically-powered indoor/outdoor wheelchairs in each year since 1997; [27351]
(3) how many people have utilised NHS vouchers as part-payment for powered wheelchairs in each year since 1997. [27350]
§ Jacqui SmithFigures on expenditure on electrically powered indoor/outdoor wheelchairs (EPIOCs) are not collected centrally, nor are figures for numbers of vouchers issued separated into manual wheelchairs and EPIOCs.
The table gives the only date available centrally. A number of these figures are incomplete (as annotated):
England 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 Number of powered wheelchairs issued 4,464 4,033 3,388 23,279 Number of vouchers issued for wheelchairs 1560 25,010 6,305 26,250 1 Collection of data was not mandatory 2 Incomplete figure (one return missing)