13 March 2018

Spring Statement – FODO welcomes Government commitment to tackle ‘scourge’ of late payments

Responding to this afternoon’s Spring Statement by Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond, Federation of (Ophthalmic and Dispensing) Opticians (FODO) Chief Executive David Hewlett, said:

“Growth in the economy is always welcome news for health care. We also welcome the Chancellor’s promise to eliminate the ‘scourge’ of late payments. Let us hope this also applies to the NHS, where the catastrophic failure by NHS England and Capita to deliver NHS optical payments has had serious consequences for our members and needs to be addressed by the Government with the utmost urgency.”

In January earlier this year, FODO co-signed an Optical Confederation letter to NHS England, calling for urgent action to address these failings to fulfil contractual obligations. For more information, click here.

David Hewlett added: “Other changes announced in the Spring Statement, including the frequency of business rate valuations and the funding of apprenticeships for small businesses, will also affect FODO members. We will be studying these proposals closely and advising our members accordingly later in the week.”