Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the implications for his Department's policies are of the recommendations of the Lancet Commission on Health and Climate Change, published on 23 June 2015.

The Department has set up a Sustainable Development and Climate Change Steering Group (SDCCSG), to strengthen governance of sustainable development activities across the Department, including oversight of our arm’s length bodies. The SDCCSG is a forum to develop and advise on sustainable development activities and ensure that these are integrated across the Department’s policies and practices.

The Department has already taken a number of steps to make the health and care system more resilient to the threat of climate change. These include issuing guidance on energy use and climate resilience for the NHS estate, the regular publication of Heatwave and Cold Weather Plans and the provision of health input into the Government’s flooding guidance, in conjunction with Public Health England and NHS England.