To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 16 July 2008, Official Report, column 523W, on chiropody, whether he plans to set consistent minimum standards for NHS chiropody provision across regions. (223850)

There are no plans to set minimum standards for the provision of chiropody services centrally. Access to chiropody services is a matter for primary care trusts based on the assessed needs of their local population. To help trusts develop their policy for access to foot care, guidance is included in the national service frameworks for older people, diabetes, and long-term conditions, and the White Paper, “Our health, our care, our say: a new direction for community services”.