Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
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 the increase in eating disorders among teenagers and young adults.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As part of our mission to build a National Health Service that is fit for the future, there is a critical need to shift the treatment of eating disorders from hospital to the community. Improved care in the community will give young people early access to evidence-based treatment involving families and carers, improving outcomes and preventing relapse.
NHS England is currently working to improve children’s community eating disorder services. Improved care in the community will give young people early access to evidence-based treatment involving families and carers, improving outcomes and preventing relapse. By preventing eating disorders from progressing to adulthood, we will help deliver our aim to raise the healthiest generation of children ever.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
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 mandatory calorie labelling on menus on (a) eating habits and (b) measures of health beyond calorie intake.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Legislation requires large businesses in England, those with 250 or more employees, to display calorie information on non-prepacked food and soft drinks.
The policy aims to support consumers to improve eating habits by making healthier choices for themselves and their families when eating out or getting a takeaway, with clear information about the calorie content of potential purchases. The policy may also impact measures of health beyond calorie intake by encouraging businesses to reformulate and provide lower calorie options, helping to create a healthier food environment.
The published impact assessment estimated that by lowering calorie consumption amongst people living with overweight or obesity, the policy would produce NHS savings of £430 million and social care savings of £477 million over 25 years.
We continue to evaluate the impact of the Out of Home Calorie Labelling Regulations and will publish a post-implementation review within five years of implementation which will consider the effectiveness and impact of the policy.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much (a) their Department and (b) its arm’s length bodies have spent on (i) installing electric vehicle charging facilities and (ii) purchasing electric vehicles since 4 July 2024; and what estimate their Department has made of the difference in capital cost between (A) the electric vehicles purchased by their Department and (B) comparable (1) petrol and (2) diesel models.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Since 4 July 2024 neither the Department nor its arm’s length bodies have centrally purchased electric vehicles for their owned fleet. There has been no departmental investment in charging facilities for the central Government estate in this period, though arm’s length bodies have spent £100,000 on such assets.
With regard to National Health Service budgets and estate, the Department has not allocated any national programme capital to the NHS for investment in electric vehicles or charging infrastructure. However, in line with the ambitions of the NHS’s Net Zero Travel and Transport Strategy, NHS trusts continue to use their operational capital allocations for investment in electric vehicles, including ambulances, where this aligns with local priorities. This spend data is held locally.
The Department is also working with NHS England and the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles to support the rollout of charging infrastructure across the NHS estate through the £8 million NHS Chargepoint Accelerator Scheme, which is funded by the Department for Transport.
The Department has not made an estimate of the difference in capital cost between electric vehicles and comparable petrol or diesel models. However, the NHS Travel and Transport Strategy has previously noted that transitioning to zero-emission vehicles in the NHS could deliver operational savings of £59 million per year through reduced fuel and maintenance costs.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the annual cost to the public purse for NHS of treating (a) congenital and (b) genetic disorders arising from consanguineous unions.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold this information.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Government has (a) commissioned and (b) plans to commission studies using (i) genomic datasets, (ii) UK Biobank and (iii) Genomics England to estimate levels of (A) inbreeding and (B) runs of homozygosity and F coefficients across UK populations.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the incidence of (a) genetic and (b) congenital disorders associated with parental consanguinity in England and Wales since 1997; if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of trends in the level of incidence on public health; and if he will publish that assessment.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether any NHS trusts (a) collect and (b) are required to collect data on (i) child and infant mortality, (ii) congenital anomalies and (iii) other health outcomes attributable to parental consanguinity.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
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 (a) improve data collection and (b) integrate indicators related to (i) parental consanguinity and (ii) genetic risk into future (A) public health strategy and (B) NHS resource allocation frameworks.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
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 Tobacco and Vapes Bill on the risk of vapers returning to traditional cigarettes.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The health advice is clear that whilst vapes are less harmful than smoking and can be an effective quit aid for adult smokers, children and adult non-smokers should never vape. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill has been carefully designed to get this balance right, ensuring we take definitive action to tackle youth vaping, whilst ensuring that vapes, alongside other forms of quit aids, remain accessible to adult smokers.
The Government has published a comprehensive impact assessment for the Tobacco and Vapes Bill which includes the health benefits and the impact on people who vape currently. This assessment was reviewed in full by the Regulatory Policy Committee, which deemed it ‘fit for purpose’ in its published opinion on 5 November 2024.
Importantly, the bill introduces a progressive age of sale policy for tobacco, the smoke-free generation policy, and also includes policies that further restrict the sale and appeal of tobacco products. This will have a dissuasive effect on consumers considering tobacco products, which will mitigate any potential risks of people that vape returning to tobacco use.
Tobacco duty will also be increased alongside the upcoming vaping products duty to maintain the financial incentive to choose vaping over smoking.
To support current smokers to quit, we are providing £70 million of additional funding into local stop smoking services and delivering Tobacco Dependency Treatment through National Health Service inpatient and maternity services. These services provide access to a range of medicines, nicotine replacement therapies, and vapes, alongside behavioural support. Vapes are a popular quit aid among adult smokers and we have commissioned guidance from the National Centre for Smoking Cessation and Training to maximise their use and ensure practitioners are trained to deliver the best advice.
Our national public health marketing campaigns, such as Stoptober and our annual campaigns, motivate adults to quit smoking. Public health messaging will continue to educate smokers about smoking quit aids and will support the promotion of vapes as a means for adult smokers to quit smoking, as outlined on the Better Health and NHS websites.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on what evidential basis his Department has assessed the public health implications of (a) the Tobacco and Vapes Bill and (b) encouraging the use of less harmful alternatives to tobacco.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The health advice is clear that whilst vapes are less harmful than smoking and can be an effective quit aid for adult smokers, children and adult non-smokers should never vape. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill has been carefully designed to get this balance right, ensuring we take definitive action to tackle youth vaping, whilst ensuring that vapes, alongside other forms of quit aids, remain accessible to adult smokers.
The Government has published a comprehensive impact assessment for the Tobacco and Vapes Bill which includes the health benefits and the impact on people who vape currently. This assessment was reviewed in full by the Regulatory Policy Committee, which deemed it ‘fit for purpose’ in its published opinion on 5 November 2024.
Importantly, the bill introduces a progressive age of sale policy for tobacco, the smoke-free generation policy, and also includes policies that further restrict the sale and appeal of tobacco products. This will have a dissuasive effect on consumers considering tobacco products, which will mitigate any potential risks of people that vape returning to tobacco use.
Tobacco duty will also be increased alongside the upcoming vaping products duty to maintain the financial incentive to choose vaping over smoking.
To support current smokers to quit, we are providing £70 million of additional funding into local stop smoking services and delivering Tobacco Dependency Treatment through National Health Service inpatient and maternity services. These services provide access to a range of medicines, nicotine replacement therapies, and vapes, alongside behavioural support. Vapes are a popular quit aid among adult smokers and we have commissioned guidance from the National Centre for Smoking Cessation and Training to maximise their use and ensure practitioners are trained to deliver the best advice.
Our national public health marketing campaigns, such as Stoptober and our annual campaigns, motivate adults to quit smoking. Public health messaging will continue to educate smokers about smoking quit aids and will support the promotion of vapes as a means for adult smokers to quit smoking, as outlined on the Better Health and NHS websites.