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 help reduce health disparities linked to high vitamin D deficiency rates in at-risk population groups.

Government recommendations for vitamin D are promoted on the National Health Service webpage and through the social marketing campaigns Best Start in Life, Better Health, and Healthier Families.

The Government’s Healthy Start Scheme was introduced in 2006 to encourage a healthy diet for pregnant women, babies, and young children under the age of four years old from very low-income households. Beneficiaries are eligible for free Healthy Start Vitamins which include folic acid and vitamins C and D for pregnant and breast-feeding women and vitamins A, C and D for children.

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Public Health Guideline, reference code PH56, gives information on vitamin D supplementation for population groups specifically at risk of deficiency, including how to increase awareness of and access to vitamin D supplements.