Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Neath and Swansea East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of different funding mechanisms that could be applied to new obesity treatments.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for developing authoritative, evidence-based recommendations for the National Health Service on whether new medicines represent a clinically and cost-effective use of resources. The NHS in England is legally required to fund medicines recommended in a NICE appraisal, usually within three months of final guidance.
NICE has recommended several weight loss medicines as a clinically and cost-effective use of NHS resources that are now being made available to NHS patients. The NHS is currently rolling out tirzepatide for obesity in primary care, using a phased approach based on clinical need to manage NHS resources. Around 220,000 individuals are expected to be eligible over the next three years. NHS England worked with clinical experts, integrated care boards, patient and public representatives, healthcare professionals, charities and royal colleges on its prioritisation approach, which it set out in its interim commissioning guidance, available at the following link:
Through the Obesity Healthcare Goals programme, launched in 2022, we are working with industry and research partners to develop and test new delivery and funding models. This includes the Obesity Pathway Innovation Programme (OPIP), which is piloting community-based and pharmacy-led provision of weight management services, alongside pharmaceutical and digital interventions. The programme is supported by up to £85 million in joint funding from Government and Eli Lilly, with a portion ring-fenced for devolved administrations. These pilots will generate evidence on clinical outcomes, patient experience, and economic sustainability to inform future commissioning decisions.
The Government remains firmly committed to tackling obesity as a major public health challenge, improving access to effective interventions, and reducing health inequalities across the country.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Neath and Swansea East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of delivering weight management services as part of the neighbourhood health model.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Neighbourhood Health Services will bring together teams of professionals, including nurses, doctors, social care workers, pharmacists, health visitors, and more, closer to people’s homes, to work together to provide comprehensive care in the community.
We expect neighbourhood teams and services to be designed in a way that reflects the specific needs of local populations and so could include weight management services. While the focus on personalised, coordinated care will be consistent, this will mean services will look different, for example in rural communities, coastal towns, and deprived inner cities.
Integrated care boards (ICBs) and local authorities are responsible for commissioning weight management services. We would expect them to commission services based on local population needs, taking account of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidelines and the move to a Neighbourhood Health Service.
We are intending to publish a National Framework for Neighbourhood Health Plans in the autumn. This will set out how areas should design neighbourhood health services around local needs and different population cohorts.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Neath and Swansea East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to recognise obesity as a disease.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not recognise obesity as a disease.
Guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which the Government accepts and works to, focus on obesity as a complex but preventable public health issue. NICE does not classify obesity as a disease but recognises that it increases the risks of a range of adverse health outcomes including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke and some cancers. NICE provides robust, evidence-based guidance on the identification, prevention and treatment of obesity. NICE guidelines stress the importance of clinical judgement, including considering whether someone is living with another health condition alongside obesity that may be relevant.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Neath and Swansea East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what data his Department holds on the number of UK-based distilleries that have (a) opened and (b) closed in each of the last five years.
Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon lady’s Parliamentary Question of 10th October is attached.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Neath and Swansea East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of the value of gin produced in Wales to the economy.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK has a vibrant and successful Gin industry, with exports in excess of £530 million in 2024. The department has not made a formal estimate of the value of gin produced in Wales, but industry reports that the number of active gin distilleries in Wales has grown rapidly from 5 distilleries in 2017 to over 30 in 2024. Office for National Statistics data published in 2024 also shows that distilling supports over 250 jobs in Wales.
Earlier this year we were pleased to grant protected status to Dovey Native Botanical Gin, produced in Machynlleth.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Neath and Swansea East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of excise duty levels on the export competitiveness of UK-produced spirits; and what spirit exports were by (a) value and (b) volume in the last period for which data is available.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
DBT helps distillers access global markets and increase competitiveness through free trade agreements such as the UK-India FTA, breaking down market access barriers and providing targeted support via business.gov.uk. Excise duty does not apply to spirits produced and exported from the UK. In the 12 months to August 2025, UK spirit exports were provisionally valued at £6.7 billion, with a total volume of around 500 million litres.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Neath and Swansea East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to support (a) small and (b) independent distillers wishing to export.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
DBT negotiates new free trade agreements, such as the UK-India FTA, and seeks to remove market access barriers for UK distillers. We recently agreed a Geographic Indicator for Scotch Whisky in Argentina. DBT provides direct export support via business.gov.uk, including access to the Business Academy and international market teams. This November, DBT will lead a landmark Spirits trade mission to New Delhi and Mumbai, offering UK distillers a strategic gateway into India’s fast-growing alcoholic drinks market. Distillers of all sizes can access UK Export Finance (UKEF), the UK’s export credit agency, which offers a wide range of products to support exporters and export-ready businesses.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Neath and Swansea East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate her Department has made of the value of the UK spirits sector to the economy in (a) employment, (b) exports and (c) tax revenue.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
(a) The Office for National Statistics' Business Register and Employment Survey (2023 edition) estimates total (part-time and full-time) employment in Great Britain for the Distilling; rectifying and blending of spirits industry is 13,700 workers.
(b) HMRC’s overseas trade data estimates that the value of UK spirits exports (excluding undenatured ethyl alcohol) in the 2024 calendar year was £6.6 billion.
(c) HMRC’s tax receipt statistics indicate that the value of alcohol duty paid on spirits for 2024 to 2025 is £4.2 billion.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Neath and Swansea East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the annual value is of UK spirits exports; and what proportion of overall exports those exports were in the last five years.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is responsible for the collection and publication of data on imports and exports of goods to and from the UK which includes data on exports of spirits. HMRC releases this information monthly, as an Accredited Official Statistic called the Overseas Trade in Goods Statistics (OTS), which is available via their dedicated website (www.uktradeinfo.com).
From this website, it is possible to build your own data tables based upon bespoke search criteria. To build a table, you will need the commodity codes for spirits. These codes are publicly available from the UK Trade Tariff at https://www.gov.uk/trade-tariff. Commodity codes for spirits would come under Chapter 22.
The annual trade figures for total exports can be found at uktradeinfo.com/trade-data/overseas/. The last available figures are for July 2025.
If you need help or support in constructing a table from the data on uktradeinfo, please contact uktradeinfo@hmrc.gov.uk.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Neath and Swansea East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what comparative assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of excise duty rates on the competitiveness of (a) UK and (b) European distillers; and what fiscal steps she is taking to help support the domestic distilling industry.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK spirits industry makes a vital contribution to our economy and society, with Scotch Whisky remaining the UK’s most successful food and drink export enjoyed by consumers across the globe.
UK alcohol duty is not charged on exports.
There is significant variation in alcohol taxation policy amongst European countries. The World Health Organization recently published a comparison of alcohol taxes across the WHO European Region, which can be found here: https://www.who.int/europe/publications/i/item/9789289061940 .
The UK’s alcohol taxes are generally lower than Sweden and Norway’s, and comparable to the Republic of Ireland and Finland.
Regarding support for the spirits industry, I refer the hon member to the answer that I gave to PQ UIN 80562