Oral Answers to Questions

Christopher Pincher Excerpts

Tuesday 23rd October 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

The hon. Lady does not want to come in. Fair enough.

[Christopher Pincher (Tamworth) (Con)]

5. What steps the Government are taking to help people cope with conditions such as diabetes and asthma.

[The Secretary of State for Health (Mr Jeremy Hunt)]

We are working on an outcomes strategy for long-term conditions such as diabetes and asthma structured around six shared goals, early diagnosis, integrated care, promoting independence, and steps to support those with long-term conditions to live as well as possible.

[Christopher Pincher]

Given that type 1 diabetes in under-fives is growing at 5% each year, what can my right hon. Friend do with the innovative Secretary of State for Education to ensure that nursery and primary school staff have the right skills and knowledge to ensure that they can help young children to cope with type 1?

[Mr Hunt]

The answer is that we are doing quite a lot—a good booklet, “Managing Medicines in Schools and Early Years Settings”, goes around schools, and there are other resources for schools—but we need to do more. We will be announcing a diabetes action plan, a long-term conditions outcomes strategy and a cardiovascular disease outcomes strategy, which will go further to address the issues that my hon. Friend raises.