Found: Following our work on this issue with a coalition of 20 organisations, an amendment to the Health and Care Bill

Found: mentality when we are talking about long-term funding. [ … ] We are going to be reducing the social care bill

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many officials (1) in total, and (2) in number of full-time equivalent staff, have been involved in supporting the promoters of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill in the Department of Health and Social Care since November 2020.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The number of full-time equivalent staff working on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill has fluctuated since January 2025; there was not a team working on this bill prior to this, and any work on assisted dying was delivered through existing policy teams. The primary function of the team now in place is to fulfil the Government’s duty to the statute book, with regards to the legal and technical coherence of the bill. This includes providing technical drafting support and advising on workability of the legislation, as well as supporting Ministers to fulfil their duties to Parliament, such as responding to questions and correspondence and Parliamentary debates and committee hearing. Matters of policy have remained solely for the Sponsoring Members, Kim Leadbeater MP in the House of Commons and Lord Falconer in the House of Lords, to determine.

As of 1 September 2025, there were 11.8 full-time equivalent (FTE) officials in the Department of Health and Social Care Bill Team, at its largest the Bill Team was 16.8 FTEs. Where required, contributions on specific issues may have been sought from other teams, however the FTE cannot be accurately quantified for these issues.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government further to the Written Statement by Baroness Merron on 22 May (HLWS662), whether the commitment by advertisers and broadcasters to implement the advertising restrictions for less healthy food and drink in October 2025 is based on the February 2024 proposed guidance from the Advertising Standards Authority, or the updated guidance discussed in the consultation update on 13 January.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to implementing advertising restrictions for less healthy food and drink on television and online, as part of its ambition to raise the healthiest generation of children ever. These restrictions are expected to remove up to 7.2 billion calories from United Kingdom children’s diets per year and deliver £2 billion in health benefits.

The Government received representations from a range of stakeholders in response to the Advertising Standards Authority's (ASA) revised implementation guidance and prior to the written statement on 22 May announcing a revised approach to implementing the advertising restrictions. This included written correspondence from the food and drink industry and the advertising industry, however, representations did not reference legal action against the Government or the ASA. We listened carefully to the concerns raised by all stakeholders and worked with the Department of Culture, Media and Sport to find a successful resolution.

The resolution was agreed on the basis that advertisers and broadcasters, with the support of online platforms and publishers, have made a unique and public commitment to comply with the restrictions as though they would still come into force from 1 October 2025. The consistent position of the Government is that brand advertising is not in scope of the advertising restrictions, and this was clearly understood by Parliament during the passage of the Health and Care Bill. We have engaged with industry stakeholders and understand that businesses are using the implementation guidance the ASA consulted on between December 2023 and February 2024 as a guide to comply with the restrictions.

Ofcom was appointed as the statutory regulator for the advertising restrictions, and this was set out in primary legislation via the Health and Care Act 2022. Following consultation, Ofcom appointed the ASA as the frontline regulator. The ASA is required by law to consult my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on its non-statutory implementation guidance ahead of publication.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Merron on 22 May (HLWS662), what discussions they have had with OFCOM about the effectiveness of the Advertising Standards Authority in handling the non-statutory guidance for the regulations on the advertising of unhealthy food and drink on TV and online.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to implementing advertising restrictions for less healthy food and drink on television and online, as part of its ambition to raise the healthiest generation of children ever. These restrictions are expected to remove up to 7.2 billion calories from United Kingdom children’s diets per year and deliver £2 billion in health benefits.

The Government received representations from a range of stakeholders in response to the Advertising Standards Authority's (ASA) revised implementation guidance and prior to the written statement on 22 May announcing a revised approach to implementing the advertising restrictions. This included written correspondence from the food and drink industry and the advertising industry, however, representations did not reference legal action against the Government or the ASA. We listened carefully to the concerns raised by all stakeholders and worked with the Department of Culture, Media and Sport to find a successful resolution.

The resolution was agreed on the basis that advertisers and broadcasters, with the support of online platforms and publishers, have made a unique and public commitment to comply with the restrictions as though they would still come into force from 1 October 2025. The consistent position of the Government is that brand advertising is not in scope of the advertising restrictions, and this was clearly understood by Parliament during the passage of the Health and Care Bill. We have engaged with industry stakeholders and understand that businesses are using the implementation guidance the ASA consulted on between December 2023 and February 2024 as a guide to comply with the restrictions.

Ofcom was appointed as the statutory regulator for the advertising restrictions, and this was set out in primary legislation via the Health and Care Act 2022. Following consultation, Ofcom appointed the ASA as the frontline regulator. The ASA is required by law to consult my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on its non-statutory implementation guidance ahead of publication.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Merron on 22 May (HLWS662), what representations they received from (1) the food and drink industry, and (2) the advertising industry; and whether those representations contained references to legal action against (a) His Majesty's Government, or (b) the Advertising Standards Authority.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to implementing advertising restrictions for less healthy food and drink on television and online, as part of its ambition to raise the healthiest generation of children ever. These restrictions are expected to remove up to 7.2 billion calories from United Kingdom children’s diets per year and deliver £2 billion in health benefits.

The Government received representations from a range of stakeholders in response to the Advertising Standards Authority's (ASA) revised implementation guidance and prior to the written statement on 22 May announcing a revised approach to implementing the advertising restrictions. This included written correspondence from the food and drink industry and the advertising industry, however, representations did not reference legal action against the Government or the ASA. We listened carefully to the concerns raised by all stakeholders and worked with the Department of Culture, Media and Sport to find a successful resolution.

The resolution was agreed on the basis that advertisers and broadcasters, with the support of online platforms and publishers, have made a unique and public commitment to comply with the restrictions as though they would still come into force from 1 October 2025. The consistent position of the Government is that brand advertising is not in scope of the advertising restrictions, and this was clearly understood by Parliament during the passage of the Health and Care Bill. We have engaged with industry stakeholders and understand that businesses are using the implementation guidance the ASA consulted on between December 2023 and February 2024 as a guide to comply with the restrictions.

Ofcom was appointed as the statutory regulator for the advertising restrictions, and this was set out in primary legislation via the Health and Care Act 2022. Following consultation, Ofcom appointed the ASA as the frontline regulator. The ASA is required by law to consult my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on its non-statutory implementation guidance ahead of publication.

Found: this session. 12 Lord Forsyth of Drumlean brought an amendment to the Government’s Health and Care Bill

Found: the first National Health Sector Policy under democratic government and a draft National Health Care Bill

Found: regarding brand advertising, as it was understood by Parliament during the passage of the Health and Care Bill

Found: The report notes that the Care Bill currently going through Parliament provides an opportunity to end

Found: Introduction Debates regarding amendments tabled for the Health and Care Bill (now act), brought specific

Found: homes” and helps address other core matters on Parliament’s business around the Right to Palliative Care Bill

Found: A proposal for a Right to Palliative Care Bill, in the name of Miles Briggs MSP, was lodged in 2024 but