Asked by: Lord Harper (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 16 July (HL8983), which Minister took the decision to make the "Assisted Dying Bill" a major priority of the Government, when they took that decision and why.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the noble Lord to the Written Ministerial Statement (HLWS875) which was made to the House on 22 July 2025, which stated:
“It has been brought to my attention that a written answer given to Lord Scriven contained inaccurate information related to the work of the Department for Health and Social Care.
The reply to written Parliamentary Question HL8983, tabled by Lord Scriven on 30 June 2025, stated that “the Department’s staff numbers have needed to increase to ensure the right skills and capability to deliver several of the Government’s major priorities.” The answer then went on to list a number of areas which have required additional staff resource within the Department. The Assisted Dying Bill has required additional resource but should not have been referred to as a Government priority given the Government’s neutrality on the issue.
For clarity, the answer should read:
“The Department’s total paybill and staffing costs have not risen by £20 million since July 2024; rather, they have risen, but by £2.5 million in that time.
Since the General Election, the Department’s staff numbers have needed to increase to ensure the right skills and capability to deliver several of the Government’s major priorities. During this period, payroll costs have also increased because of annual pay increases.
Given the scale of the challenges facing the health and social care system, as part of the Spending Review, the Department is working on reducing its headcount down to pre-election levels during 2025/26. This is a key step towards a streamlined centre, to support continued prioritisation towards front-line services.”
I would like to apologise for any confusion.”
Asked by: Lord Harper (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 impact of their planned advertising restrictions on less healthy food on reducing the calorie intake of children (1) in total per year, and (2) per child per year.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has set a bold ambition to raise the healthiest generation of children ever and will take action to address the childhood obesity crisis. This requires a range of policies, which is why we have set out decisive action in the 10-Year Health Plan. As part of this, we are committed to implementing the advertising restrictions for less healthy food and drink on television and online. These restrictions are expected to remove up to 7.2 billion calories from children’s diets per year in the United Kingdom and deliver approximately £2 billion in health benefits. The restrictions are expected to reduce childhood obesity by 20,000 cases. The restrictions specifically target categories of products that have been identified as of most concern in relation to childhood obesity. However, we also recognise that the restrictions will have an impact on businesses, and we have therefore made sure that the restrictions are proportionate and strike the right balance between health benefits and impact on businesses, for example ensuring that brand advertising which does not identify less healthy food or drink products is not in the scope of the policy.
Asked by: Lord Harper (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 impact of their planned advertising restrictions on less healthy food on commercial broadcasters' advertising revenues.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has set a bold ambition to raise the healthiest generation of children ever and will take action to address the childhood obesity crisis. This requires a range of policies, which is why we have set out decisive action in the 10-Year Health Plan. As part of this, we are committed to implementing the advertising restrictions for less healthy food and drink on television and online. These restrictions are expected to remove up to 7.2 billion calories from children’s diets per year in the United Kingdom and deliver approximately £2 billion in health benefits. The restrictions are expected to reduce childhood obesity by 20,000 cases. The restrictions specifically target categories of products that have been identified as of most concern in relation to childhood obesity. However, we also recognise that the restrictions will have an impact on businesses, and we have therefore made sure that the restrictions are proportionate and strike the right balance between health benefits and impact on businesses, for example ensuring that brand advertising which does not identify less healthy food or drink products is not in the scope of the policy.
Asked by: Lord Harper (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 impact of their planned advertising restrictions on less healthy food on reducing child obesity.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has set a bold ambition to raise the healthiest generation of children ever and will take action to address the childhood obesity crisis. This requires a range of policies, which is why we have set out decisive action in the 10-Year Health Plan. As part of this, we are committed to implementing the advertising restrictions for less healthy food and drink on television and online. These restrictions are expected to remove up to 7.2 billion calories from children’s diets per year in the United Kingdom and deliver approximately £2 billion in health benefits. The restrictions are expected to reduce childhood obesity by 20,000 cases. The restrictions specifically target categories of products that have been identified as of most concern in relation to childhood obesity. However, we also recognise that the restrictions will have an impact on businesses, and we have therefore made sure that the restrictions are proportionate and strike the right balance between health benefits and impact on businesses, for example ensuring that brand advertising which does not identify less healthy food or drink products is not in the scope of the policy.
Asked by: Lord Harper (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the announcement on 12 August 2022 that Government will not be procuring any doses of Evusheld at this time, what the evidential basis was for that decision.
Answered by Robert Jenrick - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
The decision not to procure Evusheld for prevention through emergency routes at this time, is based on independent clinical advice by the multi-agency RAPID C-19 and a national expert policy working group. These groups considered a range of evidence, including clinical trial data, in vitro analysis and emerging observational studies. The Chief Medical Officer for England is content that the correct process for providing clinical advice has been followed and agrees that this should now be referred to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence for further evaluation. The Department intends to publish further details of the clinical advice received shortly.
Asked by: Lord Harper (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care when her Department plans to publish the allocation of the Adult Social Care Discharge Fund to each NHS Trust.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
On 22 September 2022, the Government launched the Adult Social Care Discharge Fund which provides an additional £500 million to accelerate the safe discharge of patients from hospital into social care and recruit and retain care workers to support people who no longer need to be in hospital. The details of the fund, including local allocations, are being finalised, and will be published shortly.
Asked by: Lord Harper (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the additional financial support announced by the Chancellor in the Economy Update of 26 May 2022 and set out in the Cost of living support factsheet: 26 May 2022 will be taken into account when individual contributions to social care costs are calculated.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
The Department is currently determining the impact of the new cost of living payments on financial assessments for care costs.
Asked by: Lord Harper (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the additional funding announced for health and social care over the next three years in paragraph 8 of the policy paper, Building Back Better: Our Plan for Health and Social care, published in September 2021, what assessment his Department has made of the process for determining how this funding will be allocated between acute trusts and mental health trusts.
Answered by Edward Argar
The process for determining further allocations within the National Health Service settlement for the coming years will be confirmed to NHS trusts in due course, through the usual planning guidance process.
Asked by: Lord Harper (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Department's Chief Scientific Adviser's oral evidence to the Science and Technology Committee on 26 October 2021, what progress has been made by his Department on formulating a plan C for covid-19 restrictions.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The Government has published the ‘COVID-19 Response: Autumn and Winter Plan 2021’ to sustain the progress made through the vaccination programme, avoiding the economic and social restrictions deployed in the past. However, in the event of unsustainable pressure on the National Health Service, we have set out a range of measures under ‘Plan B’. We will monitor the data closely, taking action to support and protect the NHS when necessary.
Asked by: Lord Harper (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to then Minister for Care's oral contribution of 10 June 2021, Official Report, Column 491WH, when his Department will publish the delivery plan setting out how a 50 per cent reduction in occupancy of in-patient beds by people with learning disabilities and autism will be met.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
The Department is developing an action plan to achieve at least a 50% reduction in the number of people with a learning disability and autistic people who are inpatients in mental health hospitals by 2023/24. Once finalised, the action plan will set out the actions for the Department, other Government departments, the National Health Service, local government and other delivery partners to improve the treatment of autistic people and people with learning disabilities and support them to live well in the community, with clear ownership and timescales for delivery. We intend to publish the action plan before the end of the year, once we have concluded our engagement with stakeholders.