Asked by: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding his Department plans to provide for community mental health hubs in London in each of the next three financial years.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Thus far, government funding to support Early Support Hubs from 2024/25 has allowed hubs to expand their current service offer to reach at least 12,000 additional young people.
The Department has confirmed a one-year contract to support and evaluate these hubs, helping to lay the foundations of the mental health offer for young people, including through expanding the workforce, introducing Young Futures Hubs, and rolling out Mental Health Support teams to more schools.
This new funding for 2025/26 will enable Early Support Hubs to deliver at least 10,000 additional mental health and wellbeing interventions, so that more children and young people are supported. Funding decisions for 2026/27 are subject to future Spending Reviews.
Asked by: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to undertake further research into the adverse health effects of ultra-processed foods.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department funds research on health and social care through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR is investing in research on the health impacts of ultra-processed foods (UPFs). This includes a new research call launched in July 2024 on the health and health inequality impacts of interventions that effect consumption of UPFs.
Asked by: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to make clean air a public health priority.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Improving the environment where we live, work, and play is critical to support everyone to live longer healthier lives. We know that air pollution is one of the greatest environmental risks to public health in the United Kingdom and so tackling it plays a crucial role in the shift from treatment to prevention of ill health.
Leading our Health Mission, the Department of Health and Social Care is working across Government on ways to reduce the health harms of air pollution, including with the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to support their plans for cleaner air.
Asked by: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help prevent childhood obesity.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The prevention of ill health is a clear priority for the Government and the cornerstone of this is supporting children to live healthier lives. We face a childhood obesity crisis, and the Government will take action to tackle the root causes of obesity head on, easing the strain on the National Health Service and creating the healthiest generation of children ever.
We have already laid secondary legislation to restrict advertisements of less healthy food and drink to children on television and online, we have announced changes to the planning framework for fast food outlets near schools and we are taking steps to ensure the Soft Drinks Industry Levy remains effective and fit-for-purpose. We are also committed to banning the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children under 16 years old. Further action on obesity under the Government’s Health Mission will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with (a) hospices and (b) charities on improving end of life care.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In early February 2025, I met with key palliative and end of life care and hospice stakeholders, including Hospice UK, Marie Curie, Sue Ryder, Together for Short Lives, MacMillian, and the Association for Palliative Medicine, where we had a productive conversation about improving palliative and end of life care in England. Long-term sector sustainability, within the context of our 10-Year Health Plan, was discussed at length at this meeting.
On visits to hospices, I have also heard from staff on their thoughts on how palliative and end of life care could be improved.
Asked by: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of mandating large food businesses to publish nutrient profile models on their products.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have not made an assessment of the potential merits of mandating large food businesses to publish nutrient profile models on their products. As part of considerations around mandatory healthiness targets, the Food Data Transparency Partnership (FDTP) was created in 2023. This was a shared programme of work across the Department of Health and Social Care, the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, and the Food Standards Agency. The FDTP was paused at the General Election and is being reviewed alongside other obesity policies.
The UK Nutrient Profiling Model (NPM) is used as the underpinning model for The Food (Promotion and Placement) (England) Regulations 2021 and The Advertising (Less Healthy Food Definitions and Exemptions) Regulations 2024. A product will be in scope if it falls within one of the product categories in the schedule to these regulations and scores four or above for food, or one or above for drink when applying the 2004 to 2005 NPM using the 2011 technical guidance. We do not require businesses to publish information related to the NPM.
Asked by: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
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 adequacy of access to (a) counselling and (b) psychological support for patients who receive a diagnosis of terminal illness.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has published statutory guidance which outlines areas for consideration when commissioning palliative and end of life care services and, within this, there is reference to improving equity of access and reducing inequity in outcomes and experience. Additionally, NHS England has developed a palliative and end of life care dashboard, which brings together all relevant local data in one place. The dashboard helps commissioners understand the palliative and end of life care needs of their local population, enabling integrated care boards to put plans in place to address and track the improvement of health inequalities, and ensure that funding is distributed fairly, based on prevalence.
NHS England’s statutory guidance for palliative and end of life care states that integrated care board (ICB) commissioners should work to ensure that there is sufficient provision of care service providers available to deliver high-quality end of life care, paying particular attention to access to mental health and wellbeing support and spiritual care.
National Health Service counselling and psychological support is principally provided through local NHS Talking Therapies services, which provide treatments, such as cognitive behavioural therapy, to adults with common mental health conditions including depression and anxiety. People can self-refer to NHS Talking Therapies Services or be referred by their general practitioner. All ICBs are expected to expand services locally by commissioning NHS Talking Therapies services integrated into physical healthcare pathways.
Asked by: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to tackle inequalities in access to end of life care services.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has published statutory guidance which outlines areas for consideration when commissioning palliative and end of life care services and, within this, there is reference to improving equity of access and reducing inequity in outcomes and experience. Additionally, NHS England has developed a palliative and end of life care dashboard, which brings together all relevant local data in one place. The dashboard helps commissioners understand the palliative and end of life care needs of their local population, enabling integrated care boards to put plans in place to address and track the improvement of health inequalities, and ensure that funding is distributed fairly, based on prevalence.
NHS England’s statutory guidance for palliative and end of life care states that integrated care board (ICB) commissioners should work to ensure that there is sufficient provision of care service providers available to deliver high-quality end of life care, paying particular attention to access to mental health and wellbeing support and spiritual care.
National Health Service counselling and psychological support is principally provided through local NHS Talking Therapies services, which provide treatments, such as cognitive behavioural therapy, to adults with common mental health conditions including depression and anxiety. People can self-refer to NHS Talking Therapies Services or be referred by their general practitioner. All ICBs are expected to expand services locally by commissioning NHS Talking Therapies services integrated into physical healthcare pathways.
Asked by: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
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 adequacy of GP provision in (a) England, (b) London and (c) Ilford South constituency; and what steps he is taking to improve patient access.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Ilford South sits within the North East London Integrated Care Board (ICB). Since June 2018, there has been an increase of 45 full-time equivalent (FTE) general practitioners (GPs) in the ICB; in the London region, there has been an increase of 411 FTE GPs; and across England there has been an increase of 4,636 FTE GPs.
In January 2025, an estimated 1.1 million appointments were delivered in the North East London ICB, an increase of 3.75% from January 2024. In the London region, there was a 2.64% increase over the same period, and across England there was a 1.76% increase.
We are uplifting the 2025/26 GP contract by £889 million, with a rising share of total National Health Service resources going to general practice. This will help to increase capacity in the system so patients can access the care they need. Alongside this increase in funding, the contract contains measures to improve access to services, continuity of care and GP recruitment.
Asked by: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help reduce obesity rates amongst children under the age of 16 in East London.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The prevention of ill health is a clear priority for the Government, and the cornerstone of this is supporting children to live healthier lives. We face a childhood obesity crisis, and the Government will take action to tackle the root causes of obesity head on, easing the strain on the National Health Service and creating the healthiest generation of children ever.
The Government has already laid secondary legislation to restrict advertisements of less healthy food and drink to children on TV and online from 1 October 2025, announced changes to the planning framework for fast food outlets near schools and is committed to banning the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children under 16 years old.
We are also working collaboratively across Government to deliver a resilient food system that promotes health and food security. The Food Strategy will work to provide healthier, more easily accessible food to help people live longer, healthier lives.
Officials in the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities regional teams work closely with local partners including local authorities and the NHS to support them with local initiatives to promote a healthy lifestyle and tackle obesity. In London, there is Every Child a Healthier Weight Delivery Plan. This helps to drive partnership action on healthy weight across the NHS, local and regional government and wider partners. More information is available at the following link: