Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the prevalence of obesity in children (a) nationally and (b) in York.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) collects data on children aged four to five years old in Reception and 10 to 11 years old in Year 6. The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities publishes national and local level data on Fingertips. For children aged four to five years old, the prevalence of obesity in England was 10.1% and 8.9% in York in the academic year 2021/22. For children aged 10-11 years old the prevalence of obesity in England was 23.4% and 18.9% in York in the academic year 2021/22.
NCMP is a surveillance programme providing trend data on childhood weight status. It is not a screening programme. However, local authorities can choose to notify parents of their children’s measurements. When a child is identified as living with obesity, a tailored feedback letter provides a parent with information about local healthy lifestyle and child weight management services available. They may also be invited to contact the school nursing team to discuss their child’s growth and support available.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to help ensure that public health teams are effectively tackling obesity in children and young people.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
There are resources available to assist public health teams in tacking obesity in children and young people including three National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines, one on the identification, assessment and management of obesity in children, young people and adults, one on obesity prevention, which outlines how the National Health Service, local authorities, schools and workplaces can increase physical activity levels and make dietary improvements among their target populations, and one on how effective lifestyle weight management services for children and young people should be delivered.
In addition, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities has published resources to support the commissioning and delivery of tier two behavioural weight management services for children, families, and adults which is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/weight-management-guidance-for-commissioners-and-providers
The Government also provides robust public health data to local authorities through the National Child Measurement Programme, which can be used to inform the development of local childhood obesity strategies and enables them to plan services and monitor progress.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
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 help tackle obesity in adults.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
In addition to the answer I gave the hon. Member on 27 February 2023 to Question 151337, the weight loss drug Semaglutide (Wegovy) will be available on the National Health Service within three months of its launch in the United Kingdom with eligibility in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommendations to ensure clinically and cost effective use.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle levels of obesity; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of publishing an obesity strategy.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The Government published its obesity strategy in July 2020. On what steps we are taking, I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave on 6 February 2023 to Question 137874 and 20 February 2023 to Question 143770. We will continue to follow the evidence and consider what more we can do.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of trends in level of funding for public health grants on a real-terms basis for each financial year since 2015-16; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The following table shows the local authority public health grant allocations for each year since 2015/16. The targeted departmental public health funding is allocated to local authorities for drug treatment, the Start for Life programme, weight management services and human immunodeficiency virus pre-exposure prophylaxis.
The 2021 Spending Review confirmed that the public health grant to local authorities would increase over the settlement period. In 2022/23, the grant increased by 2.81% to £3.417 billion. This is in addition to targeted investment through local Government in Start for Life support and drug and alcohol treatment services.
Year | Real terms allocation (2021/22 prices) |
2015/16 | £3.471 million |
2016/17 | £3.794 million |
2017/18 | £3.640 million |
2018/19 | £3.484 million |
2019/20 | £3.306 million |
2020/21 | £3.255 million |
2021/22 | £3.324 million |
2022/23 | £3.259 million |
Notes:
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to help improve eye health in the UK.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
Health is a devolved matter. Access to regular sight tests is critical for eye health and early detection and access to treatments to prevent sight loss. In England, many people qualify for a free eye test and optical vouchers to contribute towards the cost of glasses, with over 12 million National Health Service sight tests provided in England in 2021/22.
Diabetic Retinopathy screening is also offered annually to individuals aged 12 or over with diabetes and the Government has well established programmes on reducing smoking and obesity, both long terms risk factors for sight loss. Furthermore, the National Institute for Health and Care Research has invested over £100 million over the last five years to support research into diagnosis, prevention and treatment of eye conditions.
NHS England’s transformation programme is also considering how eye care services should be commissioned for the future to improve access to care and patient outcomes.
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce levels of (a) glaucoma and (b) preventable sight loss in England.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
Prevention, early detection and access to timely treatment are all key to preventing sight loss. Free National Health Service sight tests are available to children, those aged 60 years old and over, individuals on low incomes, and those at increased risk of certain eye diseases, including glaucoma. Diabetic Retinopathy screening is also offered annually to individuals aged 12 years old or over with diabetes.
Furthermore, the Government has well established programmes on reducing smoking and obesity, both long terms risk factors for sight loss. The Government also recognises that research is crucial for improving outcomes for patients with sight threatening conditions. Over the past five financial years, the National Institute for Health and Care Research has invested more than £100 million in funding and support for eye conditions research, many of the studies specifically focus on sight loss. NHS England’s transformation programme is also considering how eye care services should be commissioned for the future, which will improve access to care and patient outcomes.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help (a) early diagnosis and (b) prevention of liver disease.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
Alcohol identification and brief advice (IBA) is undertaken through the NHS Health Check. Where appropriate, individuals are given advice on reducing alcohol consumption or referred to specialist support. IBA is also included at new general practitioner registrations and within the standard contract for secondary care.
We are piloting community liver health checks in 12 areas to provide earlier identification of patients with liver disease. Since April 2022, NHS England has introduced a new Commissioning for Quality and Innovation indicator to incentivise testing for cirrhosis or advanced liver fibrosis for alcohol-dependent in-patients in acute and mental health services. We also have a range of approaches and interventions to address the major risk factors for liver disease, including addressing obesity and preventing hepatitis C.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
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 help reduce obesity levels.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
New Regulations on out of home calorie labelling for food sold in large businesses including restaurants, cafes and takeaways came into force in April 2022 and restrictions on the promotion by location of products high in fat, salt or sugar in large retail settings came into force on 1 October. We are also working with the food industry to ensure it is easier for people to make healthier choices and increase progress on the reformulation of foods. In addition, weight management services are available to support adults and children living with obesity to achieve a healthier weight.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the terms of reference of the internal review of the obesity strategy will be.
Answered by Caroline Johnson
There are no terms of reference as this is a routine internal review.