Ophthalmic Services: Finance
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, further to his answer on 1 June (HC Deb col 895) on the Health Bill, what safeguards he will put in place to ensure that Clauses 26-29 of Health Bill do not inadvertently (a) put General Ophthalmic Services budgets at risk and (b) lead to a postcode lottery of NHS eye tests.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock
The Health Bill will transfer statutory responsibility for commissioning Primary Ophthalmic Services to integrated care boards (ICBs). Commissioning responsibility for these services has already been delegated by NHS England to ICBs since 2023, and funding is allocated to ICBs each year for this purpose. National Health Service sight testing services will continue to operate within a national regulatory and contractual framework, with contract terms set in regulations and fees set nationally through Directions. The bill will not affect patient eligibility for NHS sights tests.
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