Written question asked by Andrew Mitchell (Conservative) on Tuesday, 3 February 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 5 February 2026. It was answered by Zubir Ahmed (Labour) on Monday, 9 February 2026 on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.
Wheelchairs: West Midlands
- Question
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To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to work with NHS Birmingham and Solihull ICB to reduce the number of patients that are waiting an extended period for a wheelchair.
- Answer
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Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the provision and commissioning of local wheelchair services, based on the needs of their local population.
NHS England supports ICBs to reduce variation in the quality and provision of National Health Service wheelchairs, and to reduce delays in people receiving timely intervention and wheelchair equipment. Since July 2015, NHS England has collected quarterly data from ICBs on wheelchair provision, including waiting times, to enable targeted action if improvement is required. The latest figures from the Quarter 2 2025/26 National Wheelchair Data Collection showed that 84% of adults and 78% of children received their equipment within 18 weeks. Further information is available at the following link:
The Community Health Services Situation Report, which will be used to monitor ICB performance against waiting time targets in 2026/27, currently monitors waiting times for both children and young people and adult waiting times under the ‘Wheelchair, Orthotics, Prosthetics and Equipment’ line. The Community Health Services Situation Report is available at the following link:
The NHS Medium-Term Planning Framework, published October 2025, requires that, from 2026/27, all ICBs and Community Health Services must actively manage and reduce the proportion of waits across all community health services over 18 weeks and develop a plan to eliminate all 52-week waits.
Birmingham and Solihull ICB providers are working towards reducing waiting times in line with the NHS 10-Year Health Plan. In Birmingham in December 2025, equipment handovers were completed within the 18-week target for 42.9% of children and 71.9% of adults.
Secondary information
- Type
- Written question
- Reference
- 110321
- Session
- 2024-26
- Subjects
- Birmingham Waiting lists Wheelchairs Solihull
- Link
- View this Written question on www.parliament.uk
Librarians' tools
- Timestamp
- 2026-04-07 13:29:21 +0100
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- http://data.parliament.uk/writtenparliamentaryquestion/commons/2024-26/110321
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