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 ensure that the needs and wellbeing of (a) infants, (b) children and (c) young people are central to the priorities in the NHS 10-Year Plan.

The Government is committed to raising the healthiest generation of children ever and the 10-Year Health Plan is central to achieving this ambition. The three strategic shifts in the Plan set out how we are prioritising them.

Hospital to community will mean parents and children will have better access to care and treatment in their local areas, meaning less time taken out of school to make appointments and fewer hospital visits.

Analogue to digital will see delivery of My Children function on the NHS App. This will enable parents to have access to their child/children’s complete medical history. It will also enable parents to book appointments for their children and be signposted through artificial intelligence to advice for urgent and non-urgent medical questions.

Sickness to prevention will see a greater emphasis on ensuring children develop and maintain healthy habits throughout their childhood and into adulthood. Children turning 16 years old or younger this year will never legally be sold tobacco, and we intend to strengthen the existing ban on smoking in public places to reduce the harms of passive smoking to children. All children will see less junk food advertising and will be given healthy nutritious food in schools.