Oral Answers to Questions

Robert Neill Excerpts

Tuesday 27th November 2018 Commons Chamber

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

4. What steps he is taking to support people to lead healthier lives.

[Robert Neill (Bromley and Chislehurst) (Con)]

17. What steps he is taking to ensure that people take greater personal responsibility for leading healthier lives.

--- Later in debate ---

[Matt Hancock]

There are many things we need to do to diagnose cancer early, and of course public health is part of that, but there is a much bigger agenda, and that includes more screening. We have seen an increase in the number of people invited to screening, but we need to get the screening right, so I have instituted a review of all our screening processes for cancer and other diseases.

[Robert Neill]

Will my right hon. Friend look at the work done by Connect Well Bromley, a partnership funded by the local clinical commissioning group but delivered by Bromley Third Sector Enterprise and Community Links Bromley? That partnership sets out what is in effect a social prescribing programme of activities and services to deal with wellbeing issues at an early stage. Is that a model for elsewhere in the country?

[Matt Hancock]

Yes, it is. I have been briefed on the example that Bromley is setting, which has been brought to my attention by its brilliant local representative, my hon. Friend. Social prescribing systems such as this one are on the rise, because the evidence shows that social prescribing helps to keep people healthy and out of hospital.