Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is taking steps to ensure that patients taking weight loss medication have equitable access to community-based (a) weight management and (b) lifestyle support services.

Both the license and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance for these medicines specify that they should be prescribed alongside a reduced calorie diet and physical activity. NICE guidance also states that healthcare professionals should arrange information, support, and counselling on additional diet, physical activity, and behavioural strategies when these medicines are prescribed.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning health services within their area in line with local population need and taking account of relevant guidance. NHS England has, however, also made a central wraparound service available that ICBs can use, known as Healthier You: Behavioural Support for Obesity Prescribing, for patients to be referred into, with a procurement underway for a longer-term offer. This central service focuses on nutrition, physical activity, and psychological support.