It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, [K Dr Murrison. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Bexleyheath and C [1D [K Crayford on securing this important debate and also on challenging us, born [4D [K born of his lived experience, to make the lives of disabled people better a [1D [K and better lived across our country. We are grateful for his presence in th [2D [K this House and this place, every single day. I am also grateful to my hon. [K Friend for the work he has done to champion this interest more generally in [2D [K in his capacity as co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group for wheelc [6D [K wheelchair users. In recent months wheelchair services have received consid [6D [K considerable attention, both within Parliament and more widely. As has been [4D [K been highlighted, last month I participated in a debate on the provision of [2D [K of disability equipment, brought forward by the hon. Member for Aberdeenshi [11D [K Aberdeenshire North and Moray East (Seamus Logan). I have been struck by th [2D [K the compelling testimonies shared during those discussions and the ones tod [3D [K today, highlighting the profound impact that timely access to appropriate d [1D [K disability equipment can have on people's lives. This is a matter clearly d [1D [K deserving of much more attention. Since the previous debate on this topic, [K I have written to the national quality board to request that disabled peopl [5D [K people and the equipment they use are considered as part of the board's ong [3D [K ongoing work to improve quality and reduce inequality across health and car [3D [K care services. I am pleased to update that the board has confirmed it will [K take this forward. This Government remain steadfast in their commitment to [K ensuring that disabled people can access the services and support they need [4D [K need. Through our reforms to health and social care, we are dedicated to de [2D [K delivering meaningful change that will make that vision a reality. Integrat [8D [K Integrated care boards, as has been highlighted, are responsible for commis [6D [K commissioning local wheelchair services. Responsibility for providing disab [5D [K disability equipment lies with local authorities or the NHS, depending on t [1D [K the person's needs. For adults and children with long-term complex needs, s [1D [K services are typically provided by NHS wheelchair services. There is a rang [4D [K range of NHS wheelchair providers across England, as we have heard. I ackno [5D [K acknowledge the concerns that the hon. Member for Hinckley and Bosworth (Dr [3D [K (Dr Evans) raises about NRS. My hon. Friend the Minister for Care and I wil [3D [K will be having discussions about that, and it would be appropriate to write [5D [K write the hon. Member an urgent letter to update him, as I know that he is [K genuinely concerned about the topic. Although the latest data from NHS Engl [4D [K England shows a reduction in wheelchair waiting times for adults, I recogni [7D [K recognise that far too many people of all ages, as we have heard today, exp [3D [K experience unacceptable delays for appropriate equipment. The covid pandemi [7D [K pandemic had a significant impact on wheelchair services, from which we are [3D [K are still suffering in terms of supply chain disruption. That has meant tha [3D [K that waiting times for both adults and children have fluctuated unnecessari [11D [K unnecessarily—well, unacceptably—as services have worked to recover. Those [K with more complex needs can also experience delays due to the lead-in time [K for supply of more bespoke equipment. I understand that there have been com [3D [K complaints about the quality of services commissioned by some ICBs. Some of [2D [K of these are being dealt with on an individual basis by the Parliamentary a [1D [K and Health Service Ombudsman, following escalation by individual patients. [K As part of its oversight of ICBs, NHS England is also gathering intelligenc [11D [K intelligence through regional teams to understand fully the issues being ra [2D [K raised. It is important that local commissioners have the discretion to dec [3D [K decide how best to meet the needs of their local population, and we are giv [3D [K giving systems control and flexibility over how that is done. None the less [4D [K less, the Government are taking action to support local systems in deliveri [8D [K delivering effective wheelchair services. Although there are no plans at th [2D [K the moment to establish a national review body to oversee wheelchair provis [6D [K provision, the medium-term planning framework, published in October, requir [6D [K requires that from this year all ICBs and community health services should [K actively manage and reduce waits over 18 weeks and develop a plan to elimin [6D [K eliminate all 52-week waits. The framework also states that in 2026-27, ICB [3D [K ICBs are required to increase community health service capacity—including w [1D [K wheelchair services—to meet growth in demand, expected to be approximately [K 3% nationally per year. Ultimately, ICBs are responsible for delivering the [3D [K the framework. The Government are held accountable in the manner being seen [4D [K seen today, and I have no doubt that in the new structures that we propose [K there will be further accountability, because in many ways the middleman wi [2D [K will be removed and we will have more direct oversight as to what is going [K on with wheelchair services and other services up and down the country. NHS [3D [K NHS England has developed policy, guidance and legislation to support ICBs [K to reduce delays and unacceptable regional variation in the quality and pro [3D [K provision of wheelchair services. In April 2025 NHS England published the w [1D [K wheelchair quality framework, in collaboration with the wheelchair advisory [8D [K advisory group, which I understand includes the Wheelchair Alliance and Whi [3D [K Whizz Kidz, both of which were recognised by hon. Members in the debate tod [3D [K today. That framework is designed to assist ICBs and NHS wheelchair service [7D [K service providers in delivering high-quality provision that offers improved [8D [K improved access, outcomes and experiences. The framework sets out quality s [1D [K standards relevant to all suppliers and aligns with the Care Quality Commis [6D [K Commission assessment framework that applies to providers, local authoritie [10D [K authorities and integrated care systems. Those quality standards should be [K used to develop local service specifications and to benchmark current commi [5D [K commissioning and provision. Other measures taken by NHS England include th [2D [K the establishment of a national dataset on wheelchair waiting times to incr [4D [K increase transparency and to enable targeted action if improvement is requi [5D [K required, and the introduction of the legal right to a personal wheelchair [K budget in 2019. Personal wheelchair budgets provide a clear framework for I [1D [K ICBs to commission personalised wheelchair services that are outcomes-focus [14D [K outcomes-focused and integrated with other aspects of care. The Government [K are also driving forward improvements for disabled people through our wider [5D [K wider reforms to health and social care. The recently published neighbourho [11D [K neighbourhood health framework aims to improve health and care outcomes, an [2D [K and reduce inequalities through more convenient, personalised and joined-up [9D [K joined-up care. It includes a focus on improving the diagnosis and treatmen [8D [K treatment of people with long-term conditions, so that they feel more in co [2D [K control of their care. In July 2025, the Government announced that we will [K develop a new plan for disability, setting out a clear vision to break down [4D [K down barriers to opportunity for disabled people. We are making more than £ [1D [K £4.6 billion of additional funding available for adult social care in 2028- [5D [K 2028-29 compared with 2025-26, to support the sector and make the improveme [9D [K improvements that we all crave. We have also established the better care fu [2D [K fund, a framework for ICBs and local authorities to make joint plans and po [2D [K pool budgets to deliver better, joined-up holistic care. This financial yea [3D [K year, ICBs and local authorities plan to spend £440 million on assistive te [2D [K technology and equipment such as wheelchairs. We also continue to invest in [2D [K in support for home adaptations to enable independent living, with £723 mil [3D [K million confirmed for the disabled facilities grant this year. The disabled [8D [K disabled facilities grant budget across 2025-26 and 2026-27 is £150 million [7D [K million more than the total budget across the previous two years, represent [9D [K representing an 11% increase that exceeds inflation. I recognise the profou [6D [K profound impact that delays in wheelchair provision are having on the quali [5D [K quality of life of hon. Members' constituents, and I am grateful to my hon. [4D [K hon. Friend the Member for Bexleyheath and Crayford for highlighting that t [1D [K today. He had a number of asks of me, to which I hope I have responded. I a [1D [K am cognisant of the work he has done and the personal attention he gives to [2D [K to these matters, and I offer him a meeting with Department officials in my [2D [K my office to go through them in greater detail. My officials will be in tou [3D [K touch to arrange that.