Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to take further action to encourage NHS users to accept greater responsibility for their health.

The Government wants everyone to be able to make healthier choices, regardless of their circumstances, and to minimise the risk and impact of illness. We have given local government the freedom to innovate and develop their own ways of improving public health in their area. In addition, Public Health England supports local innovation, helps to provide disease control and protection and spreads information on the latest innovations from around the world.

Progress is being made. Since 2000, both life expectancy and healthy life expectancy have increased in England; the population is now living longer and spending more years in good health. There has been a significant reduction in the prevalence of smoking going from almost 46% in 1974 to 15.5% in 2016 and alcohol consumption is also falling.

However there is more to do and a range of initiatives are underway to build upon these improvements:

- Change4Life, Public Health England’s flagship behaviour change social marketing campaign, encourages families across England to ‘eat well and move more’;

- the Tobacco Control Plan for England 2017-2022 lays down bold ambitions to reduce further smoking prevalence in England, en-route towards creating a smoke free generation; and

- the 2016 UK Chief Medical Officers’ low risk drinking guidelines provide the public with the most up to date scientific information to help people make informed decisions about their own drinking.

Additionally, the NHS Constitution sets out responsibilities patients have that will safeguard their and their family’s health and wellbeing. The handbook that is published alongside the Constitution provides further detail on what steps patients can take. We will update the handbook in 2018 and will take this opportunity to look at how the wording on patient responsibilities can be strengthened further.