Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he plans to establish a taskforce for lung health; and if he will make a statement.

Improving care for people with lung disease is a key priority for the National Health Service. Whilst there are no new plans for a national respiratory strategy or programme, there is ongoing work around particular respiratory conditions. Recent progress includes publication of standards on a range of respiratory conditions and a national pilot to improve care of breathlessness. Recent campaign activity this year has focused on raising awareness of respiratory symptoms which could indicate heart or lung disease.

NHS England and clinical commissioning groups have responsibility for determining the overall national approach to improve clinical outcomes from healthcare services for people with respiratory disease. The NHS Outcomes Framework sets out the Department's priority areas for the NHS. One of these is reducing early deaths from respiratory diseases.

The Department is committed to working in partnership with its arm’s length bodies to ensure the progress of these joint initiatives.