Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
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 reduce the risk of children and young people developing cancer.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to getting the National Health Service diagnosing cancer earlier and treating it faster, so that more patients survive this horrible set of diseases, including children and young people. The Government has now exceeded its pledge to deliver two million extra operations, scans, and appointments, having delivered 3.6 million additional appointments as a first step to delivering on the commitment that 92% of patients will wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment, in line with the NHS constitutional standard, by March 2029.
On 4 February 2025, the Department relaunched the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce to identify tangible ways to improve outcomes and experiences for children and young people with cancer. The taskforce is exploring opportunities for improvement across genomic testing and treatment, research and innovation, patient experience, and early detection and diagnosis.
The forthcoming National Cancer Plan will include further details on improving outcomes for cancer patients, including for children and young people with cancer, and will highlight how the Department will support the NHS to reduce the risk of children and young people developing cancer in all parts of England.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
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 increase accessibility to healthier foods.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Under the Health Mission, the Government is committed to prevention and to tackling obesity, creating a fairer, healthier food environment. We are taking action to restrict the advertisements of less healthy food and drink products to children on television and online, we are limiting school children’s access to fast food, and 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 under 16 year olds.
Through the Healthy Start scheme we encourage a healthy diet for pregnant women, babies, and young children under four years old from very low-income households, supporting the Government’s aim to create the healthiest generation of children in our history.
We are also working closely with the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs to develop their cross-Government Food Strategy which will set the food system up for long-term success and will provide wide ranging improvements. The Food Strategy will work to provide healthier, more easily accessible food to help people live longer, healthier lives.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
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 reduce youth obesity rates.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
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 our National Health Service and creating the healthiest generation of children ever.
We are delivering an ambitious programme of work to create a healthier food environment. We are taking action to restrict advertisements of less healthy food and drink to children on television and online, we are limiting school children’s access to fast food, we are taking steps to ensure the Soft Drinks Industry Levy remains effective and fit-for-purpose, and we are committed to banning the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to under 16 year olds.
The Government has announced the extension of free school meals to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026, and that work is in progress with experts from across the sector to revise the School Food Standards, so that every school is supported with the latest nutrition guidance.
We are also working collaboratively across the Government on the Food Strategy and the Child Poverty Strategy to provide healthier, more easily accessible food to tackle obesity and give every child the best start in life.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has his Department has made of the potential impact of childhood obesity on risk of cancer.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
A specific assessment of a direct link between childhood obesity and the risk of cancer has not been made. However, there is evidence that children and adolescents living with obesity are more likely to remain living with obesity as adults. There is also evidence that adults living with obesity have a higher risk of developing several types of cancer, with further information available at the following link:
Data suggests that 6% of cancer cases in the United Kingdom are attributable to obesity and overweight, including:
- 34% of uterine cancer cases, or 3,000 out of 9,000;
- 24% of kidney cancer cases, or 2,900 out of 12,400;
- 17% of upper gastrointestinal cancer cases, or 5,600 out of 32,400;
- 11% of colorectal cancer cases, or 4,800 out of 41,800; and
- 8% of breast cancer cases, or 4,600 out of 55,100.
Further information on this data is available at the following link:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41416-018-0029-6
The National Child Measurement Programme collects data on children aged four to five years old, who would be in reception, and 10 to 11 years old, who would be in year 6. In the 2023/24 school year, data on childhood obesity in England indicates that 22.1% of children in reception and 35.8% in year 6 were overweight or living with obesity. Further information on childhood obesity in England is available at the following link:
The Department has commissioned research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research to quantify the health and social impacts of obesity during childhood and is awaiting results, with further information available at the following link:
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding his Department is allocating to reduce the maintenance backlog at sites owned by Gloucestershire NHS Foundation Hospitals Trust.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is set to receive £9.7 million in funding through the Estates Safety Fund 2025/26. This funding will help deliver vital safety improvements at the Gloucestershire Royal Hospital and the Cheltenham General Hospital, enhancing patient and staff environments, and reducing the levels of critical maintenance backlog.
In addition, the Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board has also been provisionally allocated £53.1 million in operational capital funding, including primary care business as usual capital, for 2025/26 to allocate to local priorities, including maintenance backlogs.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding he plans to allocate to midwife (a) training and (b) recruitment in the next 12 months.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Education and Training tariff funds clinical midwife placements at approximately £5,000 per full time equivalent post. The rate is adjusted by the Market Forces Factor and varies by region. In addition, eligible midwifery students can apply for the NHS Learning Support Fund (LSF). The LSF provides a non-repayable grant of at least £5,000 per student per academic year. We review the funding arrangements for both schemes annually.
Funding for midwife training is demand led and is not capped by the Government. The total amount of funding depends on the number of students in the system.
National Health Service trusts manage their recruitment at a local level. This includes allocating funding to ensure they have the right number of staff in place with the right skills mix, to deliver safe and effective care.
To reform the NHS and make it fit for the future, we will publish a 10-Year Health Plan as part of the Government’s five long-term missions. Ensuring we have the right people, in the right places, with the right skills will be central to this vision. We will publish a new workforce plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade and treat patients on time again.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
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 potential merits of increasing the number of digital cognitive behavioural therapy treatments available for insomnia on the NHS.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is for local integrated care boards to decide whether cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) should be offered to their populations as a treatment for insomnia.
NHS Talking Therapies for anxiety and depression offers low-intensity therapy which may include interventions around sleep hygiene. Individuals who are experiencing symptoms of anxiety and/or depression can be referred by their general practitioner, or can self-refer to NHS Talking Therapies via the following link:
Individuals can also access helpful resources on sleep problems on the Every Mind Matters website, which is available at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/every-mind-matters/mental-health-issues/sleep/
In addition, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s Prioritisation Board has agreed to prioritise digital technologies that deliver CBT interventions for insomnia and insomnia symptoms as a topic for the development of HealthTech guidance.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will review levels of access to cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is for local integrated care boards to decide whether cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) should be offered to their populations as a treatment for insomnia.
NHS Talking Therapies for anxiety and depression offers low-intensity therapy which may include interventions around sleep hygiene. Individuals who are experiencing symptoms of anxiety and/or depression can be referred by their general practitioner, or can self-refer to NHS Talking Therapies via the following link:
Individuals can also access helpful resources on sleep problems on the Every Mind Matters website, which is available at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/every-mind-matters/mental-health-issues/sleep/
In addition, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s Prioritisation Board has agreed to prioritise digital technologies that deliver CBT interventions for insomnia and insomnia symptoms as a topic for the development of HealthTech guidance.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the prescription of weight loss drugs on the NHS without associated prescriptions of exercise and physical activity on muscle mass.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Weight loss drugs, including semaglutide, tirzepatide and liraglutide, are recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) as clinically and cost-effective treatment options on the National Health Service for obesity. The guidance from NICE states that these drugs should be prescribed alongside a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity, and that healthcare professionals should arrange information, support, and counselling on additional diet, physical activity, and behavioural strategies when these drugs are prescribed. As such, healthcare professionals in the NHS should not be prescribing weight loss drugs without arranging information and support on physical activity and exercise. The Government has therefore not made an assessment of the potential impact of the prescription of weight loss drugs on the NHS without ‘associated prescriptions’ of exercise and physical activity on muscle mass.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to ensure healthcare practitioners prescribe exercise when weight loss injections are prescribed for anti-obesity treatment.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Weight loss drugs, including semaglutide, tirzepatide and liraglutide, are recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) as clinically and cost-effective treatment options on the National Health Service for obesity. The guidance from NICE states that these drugs should be prescribed alongside a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity, and that healthcare professionals should arrange information, support, and counselling on additional diet, physical activity, and behavioural strategies when these drugs are prescribed. As such, healthcare professionals in the NHS should not be prescribing weight loss drugs without arranging information and support on physical activity and exercise. The Government has therefore not made an assessment of the potential impact of the prescription of weight loss drugs on the NHS without ‘associated prescriptions’ of exercise and physical activity on muscle mass.