Oral Answers to Questions

Maggie Throup Excerpts

Tuesday 5th December 2023 Commons Chamber

[Victoria Atkins]

I thank the hon. Lady for her welcome. Having grown up in Lancashire myself, I very much understand why she is speaking up on behalf of her constituents. There are many different ways that we deal with this, but let me use a couple of headline points. First, we are increasing the public health grant to local authorities, providing more than £3.5 billion this year, so per capita public health grant allocations for the most deprived local authorities are nearly two and a half times greater than for the least deprived.

There is also interesting work going on with family hubs. Indeed, the Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, my right hon. Friend for South Northamptonshire (Dame Andrea Leadsom), who has responsibility for start for life, is leading on that. The family hubs and start for life programme will deliver a step change in outcomes for babies, children and parents in 75 local authorities in England with high deprivation. We believe strongly that if we can give the best start in life to our babies and children, it will bode extremely well for their future years.

[Maggie Throup (Erewash) (Con)]

A report that is to be published shortly by the all-party parliamentary group for diagnostics, which I chair, has highlighted that community diagnostic centres are essential for tackling health inequalities. I welcome my right hon. Friend to her new role. Will she honour her predecessor’s commitment to meet the all-party group to discuss the benefits of diagnostics in general and the preventive role that they can play in reducing health inequalities across the country?