Primary Care: Quality and Access Improvements

Lord Bird Excerpts

Thursday 21st July 2022 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Penn (Con)]

My understanding is that the establishment of Select Committees is a question for Parliament, not the Government.

[Lord Bird (CB)]

Is it possible to look at the fact that 50% of the people who present in the NHS are suffering from food poverty? Of those suffering from cardiac arrest, for example, 50% are to do with food poverty. When are we going to address the long-term overriding problem of poverty, which destroys our NHS?

[Baroness Penn (Con)]

I am not aware of the specific statistic that the noble Lord refers to but we are doing a huge amount to support people, particularly during this difficult economic time. People are facing increased costs, which is why we have put in £37 billion worth of support this year, focused on the most vulnerable and those on the lowest incomes.