Healthy Life Expectancy: England

Lord Babudu Excerpts

Monday 18th May 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

I accept that this is completely unacceptable. There are groups, including those the noble Lord rightly raises, which have an even worse healthy life expectancy. As I mentioned, we will be redesigning the system and making the shifts in the 10-year plan, in order that we target the areas and the groups that need it most. I can certainly tell the noble Lord that the most recent prevalence review on mental health will include those who have ADHD, those with autism and those with learning disability. That will take us forward, too.

[Lord Babudu (Lab)]

My Lords, can my noble friend the Minister say how the Government will achieve their shift from treating sickness to maximising prevention, as outlined in their 10-year plan, and particularly how they will shift resources, reporting and other necessary things?

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

My noble friend is right to ask about maximising prevention, as that will be a key shift in our National Health Service. In addition to the points I have already made, we are working within the NHS to do more to support our approach to prevention. In addition to what I have already mentioned and the system changes, we will, for example, strengthen our vaccination and screening programmes, including by improving the uptake of child immunisation. We are working to improve the detection, treatment and management of the behavioural and clinical risk factors that drive this burden of disease and affect healthy life expectancy.