We need leadership to end the scandal where someone’s ability to obtain necessary life-supporting equipment is based on where they live

This week in Parliament I was pleased to bring an important debate to the House on the Provision of Disability Equipment.

In my capacity as SNP Spokesperson for Health and Social Care, I’m keen to shine a light on the issues that many people across the country are facing in accessing disability equipment and the vital need for a National Strategy to address provision.

As a Scottish MP, I also want to share knowledge and experience with my cross-party colleagues on the equipment provision approach taken in Scotland which has been transformational according to voluntary organisations. I believe there are many aspects of this approach which could be adopted in England and Wales to address a broken system that is failing so may disabled people.

Ahead of this debate, I was pleased that over 653 people including some of my constituents shared their experiences with me and provided moving testimonials.

These testimonials illustrate how life changing and essential access to disability equipment of all kinds is for people to live in safety and dignity, with confidence, and importantly, with independence. This equipment offers numerous and powerful benefits for the 25% of the UK population who are disabled, transforming lives so that daily activities become more manageable, both for those dealing with disabling conditions and for those who provide their care.

However, these testimonies also reveal that there is a growing belief that the system is becoming increasingly unsustainable, with complaints about waiting times, quality of equipment, and poor communication around access. These experiences match those shared ahead of publication of last October’s report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Access to Disability Equipment, which revealed that 63% of carers and 55% of equipment users felt that services were getting worse. In addition, the UK charity for young wheelchair users, Whizz Kidz, described wheelchair services as “underfunded, inaccessible, and fractured” and, in June 2025, it was reported that Citizens Advice receives a new complaint about faulty aids every hour. Given these negative experiences, it’s not surprising that the APPG report called for the implementation of a national strategy.

At this point I should also declare a personal interest and indeed professional too from my previous life before politics. Thirty years ago, when I first joined a health and personal social services commissioning organisation, we examined in great detail for example, wheelchair services and services for people who were deaf or blind, hard of hearing or visually impaired. One particular report stands out in my memory because it was a simple idea to address the challenges facing people in getting to a hospital appointment. We called it ‘Getting There’.

Although this Government need to “get there”, the challenges in the existing system are more profound. In England and Wales, the provision of equipment is currently run by the NHS and local authorities. As a result, availability of equipment, the length of waiting times and the quality of adaptations is increasingly becoming a postcode lottery.

Age UK has noted that, due to a lack of national guidelines on timelines, long waiting lists are common. To mitigate the situation, multiple organisations have been set up such as Back Up, a UK-wide charity that works with people affected by spinal cord injury and provides vital wheelchair skills training.

In Scotland, the handling of disability equipment and adaptations is carried out by integrated authorities – united bodies in which local authorities and NHS services work together to provide more cohesive and community-focused health and social care planning. To guide those bodies, the Scottish Government agreed a memorandum of understanding some years ago, setting out a standardised approach for the provision of equipment to maintain consistency across all local councils. During engagement with voluntary organisations in this field, I was told that the Scottish approach is paying dividends. I recommend to the Minister that a similar approach should be considered for implementation in England and Wales, because the system needs change now.

Thousands of people across the UK are sick, sore and tired of being unheard after countless complaints. When will their voices be taken seriously? Greater national leadership is urgently needed to put an end to the insecure and uncertain system in which someone’s ability to obtain necessary life-supporting equipment is based on where they live rather than their need. From his response to my debate, I am certain the UK Government Minister genuinely wants to see improvement in this area – a National Strategy will be key to this success.