To ask the Minister of Health what consultation has taken place with older people and organisations such as Age Sector Platform and the Pensioners Parliament, on how and where they would prefer to receive routine hearing aid services.

While no formal consultation regarding these matters has been undertaken by the Health and Social Care Board or the Public Health Agency with older people or representative groups; I understand that the Pensioners Parliament has recently reported that individuals expressed their preference to have routine health and social care services delivered in their communities as close to their own homes as possible. I welcome such feedback from the Pensioners Parliament and other representative groups and forums and the contribution that such work makes to future decision-making.