Asked by: Lord McColl of Dulwich (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the causes of obesity; in particular, (1) food addiction, (2) genetics, and (3) other factors.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Obesity is a complex problem, and the causes are multi-factorial, including biological; physiological; psycho-social; behavioural; and environmental factors. There are no plans to collect data on the causes of obesity and no specific assessment has been made on the causes of obesity.
Government advice on a healthy, balanced diet is encapsulated in the United Kingdom’s national food model, the Eatwell Guide. The Eatwell Guide shows the proportions in which different types of foods should be consumed to have a healthy balanced diet, including average calorie intakes for men and women. The Eatwell Guide principles are communicated through a variety of channels, including the National Health Service website, Government social marketing campaigns, and guidance on healthier catering. For example, the Better Health campaign encourages adults to introduce changes that will help them work towards a healthier weight, including guidance on healthier food choices, calorie intake and portion control.
Asked by: Lord McColl of Dulwich (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to promote personal calorie control as one of the main mechanisms for preventing obesity.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Obesity is a complex problem, and the causes are multi-factorial, including biological; physiological; psycho-social; behavioural; and environmental factors. There are no plans to collect data on the causes of obesity and no specific assessment has been made on the causes of obesity.
Government advice on a healthy, balanced diet is encapsulated in the United Kingdom’s national food model, the Eatwell Guide. The Eatwell Guide shows the proportions in which different types of foods should be consumed to have a healthy balanced diet, including average calorie intakes for men and women. The Eatwell Guide principles are communicated through a variety of channels, including the National Health Service website, Government social marketing campaigns, and guidance on healthier catering. For example, the Better Health campaign encourages adults to introduce changes that will help them work towards a healthier weight, including guidance on healthier food choices, calorie intake and portion control.
Asked by: Lord McColl of Dulwich (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have plans to collect data on the causes of obesity; and if so, when this will start.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Obesity is a complex problem, and the causes are multi-factorial, including biological; physiological; psycho-social; behavioural; and environmental factors. There are no plans to collect data on the causes of obesity and no specific assessment has been made on the causes of obesity.
Government advice on a healthy, balanced diet is encapsulated in the United Kingdom’s national food model, the Eatwell Guide. The Eatwell Guide shows the proportions in which different types of foods should be consumed to have a healthy balanced diet, including average calorie intakes for men and women. The Eatwell Guide principles are communicated through a variety of channels, including the National Health Service website, Government social marketing campaigns, and guidance on healthier catering. For example, the Better Health campaign encourages adults to introduce changes that will help them work towards a healthier weight, including guidance on healthier food choices, calorie intake and portion control.
Asked by: Lord McColl of Dulwich (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to adopt the definition of "wholegrain" developed by the Whole Grain Initiative.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
There are no immediate plans to adopt a definition of wholegrain into law. Work to consider a definition for wholegrain has been added as part of the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) future work programme. Existing food labelling legislation ensures that the labelling and marketing of food does not mislead consumers.
Asked by: Lord McColl of Dulwich (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people entered the National Referral Mechanism in January and February of (1) 2022, and (2) 2023; and of those, how many received reasonable grounds decisions.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
The Home Office publishes quarterly and annual statistics regarding the (NRM). The 2022 statistics can be found here;
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1139171/modern-slavery-national-referral-mechanism-and-duty-to-notify-statistics-uk-end-of-year-summary-2022.ods Data for Q1 2023 is due for publication on 04/05/2023. The data shows the number of NRM referrals received each quarter and the number of reasonable grounds decisions made each quarter regardless of when the referral was received.
Further disaggregated data is published via the UK Data Service.
The disaggregated data shows the year and quarter in which an NRM referral was received and the year and quarter in which a reasonable grounds decision was made.
Asked by: Lord McColl of Dulwich (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many individuals arrived in the UK across the English channel in small boats and entered the National Referral Mechanism between 2018 and 2022; and what was the breakdown of these individuals by (1) gender, (2) age, (3) nationality, and (4) location of claimed exploitation, where such a claim was made.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
The Home Office publishes statistics on small boat arrivals to the UK in the ‘Irregular Migration to the UK statistics’ report on GOV.uk. Data on NRM referrals from small boat arrivals are published in the ‘Potential victims of modern slavery’ section of the ‘Irregular migration to the UK’ publication. The latest data relates to the end of December 2022. Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’ on GOV.uk
The Home Office does not publish data on NRM referrals from small boat arrivals by gender, age, nationality, or location of claimed exploitation. Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, as well as quality and availability of data.
Asked by: Lord McColl of Dulwich (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the average wait for a person entering the National Referral Mechanism to receive a reasonable grounds decision (1) before the updated statutory guidance came into effect on 30 January, and (2) since the introduction of that updated guidance.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
Reasonable Grounds decisions will be made as soon as possible following referral. Statistics on the timescales of Reasonable Grounds decisions for victims of modern slavery are not currently published
Asked by: Lord McColl of Dulwich (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address low wholegrain intakes in England.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Currently in the United Kingdom, there is no agreed definition for wholegrain or wholegrain foods. Therefore, wholegrain consumption cannot be monitored in the National Diet and Nutrition Survey. At its horizon scan meeting in June 2022 the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) agreed that it would be useful to consider a definition for wholegrain and added it to its future work programme due to start Summer 2023.
SACN’s Carbohydrates and Health report published in 2015 provides strong evidence on dietary fibre and positive health outcomes, but for wholegrains and health outcomes the evidence was mixed and SACN has questioned whether any beneficial effect from wholegrain may be due to the fibre content. Fibre is found in a range of foods and is not exclusive to wholegrain foods. Based on SACN’s findings, Government recommends that adults consume 30 grams of dietary fibre each day and that this should be achieved through a variety of food sources.
Government dietary advice, as depicted by the UK’s national food model, the Eatwell Guide, is that we should choose wholegrain or higher fibre versions of starchy carbohydrates wherever possible. This advice aims to increase population intakes of fibre. This is because in the UK, there is no quantitative recommendation for dietary wholegrain consumption, whereas there is a specific Government recommendation for dietary fibre consumption. The Government continues to promote the Eatwell Guide principles through a variety of channels, including the NHS.UK website and our social marketing campaigns, Better Health and Healthier Families.
There are no current plans to introduce a public and private sector partnership aimed at increasing the consumption of wholegrain foods.
Authorised nutrition and health claims related to fibre can be used by food business operators on food products, pursuant to retained Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006, as amended by the Nutrition (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 and the Nutrition (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020.
All authorised and rejected nutrition and health claims are included in the Great Britain Nutrition and Health Claims Register (GB NHC Register), other than those health claims authorised on the basis of proprietary data which will be recorded in a separate Annex to the GB NHC Register. The GB NHC Register, and the separate Annex, are available in an online only format.
Asked by: Lord McColl of Dulwich (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to merits of introducing a public and private sector partnership aiming to increase the consumption of wholegrain foods.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Currently in the United Kingdom, there is no agreed definition for wholegrain or wholegrain foods. Therefore, wholegrain consumption cannot be monitored in the National Diet and Nutrition Survey. At its horizon scan meeting in June 2022 the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) agreed that it would be useful to consider a definition for wholegrain and added it to its future work programme due to start Summer 2023.
SACN’s Carbohydrates and Health report published in 2015 provides strong evidence on dietary fibre and positive health outcomes, but for wholegrains and health outcomes the evidence was mixed and SACN has questioned whether any beneficial effect from wholegrain may be due to the fibre content. Fibre is found in a range of foods and is not exclusive to wholegrain foods. Based on SACN’s findings, Government recommends that adults consume 30 grams of dietary fibre each day and that this should be achieved through a variety of food sources.
Government dietary advice, as depicted by the UK’s national food model, the Eatwell Guide, is that we should choose wholegrain or higher fibre versions of starchy carbohydrates wherever possible. This advice aims to increase population intakes of fibre. This is because in the UK, there is no quantitative recommendation for dietary wholegrain consumption, whereas there is a specific Government recommendation for dietary fibre consumption. The Government continues to promote the Eatwell Guide principles through a variety of channels, including the NHS.UK website and our social marketing campaigns, Better Health and Healthier Families.
There are no current plans to introduce a public and private sector partnership aimed at increasing the consumption of wholegrain foods.
Authorised nutrition and health claims related to fibre can be used by food business operators on food products, pursuant to retained Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006, as amended by the Nutrition (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 and the Nutrition (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020.
All authorised and rejected nutrition and health claims are included in the Great Britain Nutrition and Health Claims Register (GB NHC Register), other than those health claims authorised on the basis of proprietary data which will be recorded in a separate Annex to the GB NHC Register. The GB NHC Register, and the separate Annex, are available in an online only format.
Asked by: Lord McColl of Dulwich (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have (1) to introduce an agreed definition of wholegrain, and (2) to set a recommended daily amount for its consumption.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Currently in the United Kingdom, there is no agreed definition for wholegrain or wholegrain foods. Therefore, wholegrain consumption cannot be monitored in the National Diet and Nutrition Survey. At its horizon scan meeting in June 2022 the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) agreed that it would be useful to consider a definition for wholegrain and added it to its future work programme due to start Summer 2023.
SACN’s Carbohydrates and Health report published in 2015 provides strong evidence on dietary fibre and positive health outcomes, but for wholegrains and health outcomes the evidence was mixed and SACN has questioned whether any beneficial effect from wholegrain may be due to the fibre content. Fibre is found in a range of foods and is not exclusive to wholegrain foods. Based on SACN’s findings, Government recommends that adults consume 30 grams of dietary fibre each day and that this should be achieved through a variety of food sources.
Government dietary advice, as depicted by the UK’s national food model, the Eatwell Guide, is that we should choose wholegrain or higher fibre versions of starchy carbohydrates wherever possible. This advice aims to increase population intakes of fibre. This is because in the UK, there is no quantitative recommendation for dietary wholegrain consumption, whereas there is a specific Government recommendation for dietary fibre consumption. The Government continues to promote the Eatwell Guide principles through a variety of channels, including the NHS.UK website and our social marketing campaigns, Better Health and Healthier Families.
There are no current plans to introduce a public and private sector partnership aimed at increasing the consumption of wholegrain foods.
Authorised nutrition and health claims related to fibre can be used by food business operators on food products, pursuant to retained Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006, as amended by the Nutrition (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 and the Nutrition (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020.
All authorised and rejected nutrition and health claims are included in the Great Britain Nutrition and Health Claims Register (GB NHC Register), other than those health claims authorised on the basis of proprietary data which will be recorded in a separate Annex to the GB NHC Register. The GB NHC Register, and the separate Annex, are available in an online only format.