§ Dr. FoxTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how much the NHS has spent on the provision of electrically-powered indoor/outdoor wheelchairs in each year since 1997; [27351]
(2) how many people have utilised NHS vouchers as part-payment for powered wheelchairs in each year since 1997; [27350]
1228W(3) how many electrically powered indoor/outdoor wheelchairs have been made available in each year since 1997. [27348]
§ Jacqui SmithPursuant to her reply of 22 January 2002,Official Report, column 763W: I regret that my previous reply was incorrect. It should read:
Expenditure on electrically powered indoor/outdoor wheelchairs (EPIOCs) are as follows.
Expenditure on powered indoor/outdoor wheelchairs—England £000 Amount 1997–98 6,428 1998–99 8,099 1999–2000 6,892 2000–01 8,803 Figures are not collected centrally for numbers of vouchers issued separated into manual wheelchairs and EPIOCs.
The following table gives the only data 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 3,2792 Number of vouchers issued for wheelchairs 5601 5,0102 6,305 6,2502 1Collection of data was not mandatory 2Incomplete figure (one return missing)