Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that obese and overweight patients receive expert advice on weight loss and weight management as early as possible.

The Government remains committed to providing overweight and obese individuals with expert advice, through supporting local public health teams and health professionals with the evidence based tools they need to deliver early support and advice in adopting healthier behaviours and reducing excess weight. We are giving local authorities £8.2 billion ring fenced public health funding over 3 years.

Local authorities, NHS England and clinical commissioning groups are responsible for the commissioning of the obesity care pathway, providing services based on expert guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

Public Health England (PHE) provides tools and support to local authorities to provide evidence based and effective pathways and interventions for overweight and obese individuals to lose weight.

The National Child Measurement Programme and NHS Health Check are national mandatory public health functions which are the responsibility of local authorities. These services enable identification of the overweight and obese; in school aged children at reception and year 6 and for adults aged 40-74 years; and provide access to services.