Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will introduce requirements to ensure that patients’ religious and philosophical dietary preferences, including vegetarian and vegan diets, are recorded in health and care records to ensure accessibility to care providers.

Regulation 14 of The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 requires care providers to ensure the nutritional and hydration needs of service users are met, which includes meeting any reasonable requirements arising from the service user’s preferences or their religious or cultural background.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) guidance states that people's religious and cultural needs must be identified in their nutrition and hydration assessment. When a person has specific dietary requirements relating to moral or ethical beliefs, such as vegetarianism, these requirements must be fully considered and met.

Providers must be able to demonstrate to the CQC that they meet this regulation.