Obesity

Linda Riordan Excerpts

Wednesday 9th November 2011 Westminster Hall

[Mr Burns]

No, I will not, because I have only three minutes. People need to be honest with themselves. We need to recognise that we are responsible for controlling our weight. That means eating less, drinking less and exercising more.

We are also calling on the food and drink industry to play a much bigger role in reducing the population’s calorie intake by 5 billion calories a day, to help close the crucial imbalance between energy in and energy out. That will build on commitments that businesses have already made, through the public health responsibility deal, on things such as eliminating trans fats, reducing the amount of salt in food, and proper calorie labelling.

Of course, it is for each of us to make our own decisions about how we live our lives. The best and most sustainable changes come not when people are ordered about, but when they are given the tools to change, given the justification and then take responsibility to do it themselves. That is why we need to work together to make sure that the healthier choices become the easier choices. Everyone has a role to play—the food industry, the drinks industry, the many organisations that encourage physical activity and sport, employers who can support the health of their employees, and the local NHS staff in talking to people more about obesity and its consequences.

Under the new public health system, local leadership will be critical. We want to move away from the days when legislation and demands came down from Whitehall like thunderbolts from Mount Olympus. Local authorities will be supported by a ring-fenced budget and will bring together local partners, including the NHS, to provide the most effective services for their communities. We will support local people and local authorities by making sure that they have access to the best possible data and evidence.

We will not shirk our duty to provide national leadership where it is necessary—by working, for example, with business and non-governmental organisations, and making sure that Government Departments work together in supporting better health. That is already happening. The Department for Transport is providing more than half a billion pounds of funding for local authorities to increase sustainable travel such as walking and cycling. The new teaching schools programme, led by the Department for Education, will explore how schools can support and encourage children’s health and well-being. We will also continue to try to inspire people, young and old, to embrace a healthy, active lifestyle, via, for example, Change4Life. Moreover, the London Olympics, as many of my hon. Friends have mentioned, give us the golden opportunity to perpetuate that legacy after they have finished.

The new national ambitions provide a clear goal that we can all aim for. We should all play our part in raising awareness. Once again, I congratulate the hon. Member for East Londonderry on securing this debate, and I hope that he sees the benefits in our strategy. I hope that he supports it and that he will continue to be an advocate for his constituents on the matter.

[Mrs Linda Riordan (in the Chair)]

Order. Mr Bryant has withdrawn his debate, so the sitting is suspended until 4.30 pm.

Oral Answers to Questions

Linda Riordan Excerpts

Tuesday 26th April 2011 Commons Chamber

[Anne Milton]

Yes, I assure the hon. Gentleman that the Health and Social Care Bill aims to resolve as many of the problems that we know about on the border as possible.

[Mrs Linda Riordan (Halifax) (Lab/Co-op)]

7. What estimate he has made of the number of local authorities which changed their eligibility criteria for social care in the last 12 months.

[The Minister of State, Department of Health (Paul Burstow)]

Decisions about eligibility criteria are a matter for local councils. As part of last year’s spending review, the Government committed an additional £530 million through the local government formula grant, and £648 million in direct support from the NHS, to support social care, as well as £150 million for re-ablement. By 2014, that will rise to £2 billion of additional support for social care.

[Mrs Riordan]

Is the Minister aware that according to a recent survey by the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, 19 local authorities including my own, Calderdale, have had to raise the eligibility criteria for social care because of the cuts that they have received from the Government? Does he stand by his statement of 21 October that there is

“no justification for local authorities to slash and burn or for local authorities to tighten eligibility”?

[Paul Burstow]

I certainly stand by the idea that the Government provided adequate resources in the financial settlement last year, alongside efficiency savings, to ensure that every local authority could choose to maintain the current levels of eligibility and services in its area if it so wished.

Oral Answers to Questions

Linda Riordan Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

The House is obliged to the Minister.

[Mrs Linda Riordan (Halifax) (Lab/Co-op)]

T8. Following the coalition Government’s announcement that the NHS budget was to be protected and, indeed, increased, can the Secretary of State tell me why a ward will be closed at Calderdale Royal hospital? Will he reverse that crazy decision immediately for the safety of my constituents?

[Mr Lansley]

I cannot tell the hon. Lady precisely why that proposal has been made, but I will investigate and write to her. Increasing resources overall for the NHS does not mean that everything will stay the same in every particular. There will be change, including the redirection of resources towards providing services in the community rather than in hospitals.

Diabetes (Young People)

Linda Riordan Excerpts

Wednesday 15th September 2010 Westminster Hall

[Mrs Linda Riordan (in the Chair)]

Order.

[Mr Sanders]

The points about take-up were also made extremely well by the right hon. Member for Knowsley. Getting in place the support systems for pumps will help those who make decisions about budgets locally to ensure that the equipment is there and in play for everybody who is prescribed one.

In a sense, the great hope for the future is a pump that also tests blood sugar, adjusts the dose accordingly and communicates, if the patient wishes, with a medical professional about what is happening to the patient’s body. When that happens, clinicians will be able to gather much more information from diabetics, rather than just hearing what they have to say. Of course, people will tell their GP, “I’m doing everything you said I should,” but the reality may be just a little different, so that new information will take things much further forward.

In conclusion, I have a couple of questions for the Minister. How much notice does his Department take of international comparisons regarding care and research? The hon. Member for Devizes (Claire Perry) mentioned the fact that take-up here is much lower than in the United States. Should that factor be taken into consideration when we discuss what are appropriate treatments and what budgets should be? What efforts are being made to co-ordinate international research into effective treatments and a cure for diabetes? A cure may be a long-term possibility, but it would be silly if several different countries, with several different groups of taxpayers, funded the same research at the same time. Some international co-ordination would be in everybody’s interest.

Once again, I thank the right hon. Member for Knowsley for securing the debate. I look forward to hearing the Minister’s response.

Several hon. Members rose—

[Mrs Linda Riordan (in the Chair)]

Order. I hope to call the Front-Bench speakers at 3.30 pm.