Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
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 reduce waiting lists for NHS-funded weight loss programmes.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Health Service provides a range of weight management services, and we recognise that waiting times for some programmes can be long. NHS England is taking steps to improve access.
Access to the NHS Digital Weight Management Programme is being doubled over the next three years, enabling an additional 125,000 people to begin behavioural weight‑loss support without referral delays.
The recent rollout of tirzepatide prescribing in primary care, supported by national guidance and behavioural support, provides another route to access obesity medicines, outside of specialist weight management services, where waiting times can be long. Due to the significant number of people who are potentially eligible for these medicines, the NHS is prioritising access to those with the highest clinical need first.
NHS England continues to work with local systems to improve capacity and test new models of care for obesity prescribing that may help manage demand and reduce waiting lists.
A Bill to make provision for a fixed recoverable costs scheme to limit the costs that may be recovered in respect of certain cases of clinical negligence; to provide for regular review of the limits set by such a scheme; to amend the Law Reform (Personal Injuries) Act 1948; to require the Secretary to State to report on options for reform of clinical negligence compensation relating to obstetrics; and for connected purposes;
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps the Department are taking to help tackle abusive purchasing practices in the fashion industry.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Office for Responsible Business Conduct promotes the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct and provides a non-judicial grievance mechanism for complaints of non-observance by UK businesses. The government also launched a review, through the Trade Strategy, of the UK's approach to responsible business conduct, which is focussed on tackling human rights, labour abuses and environmental harms in global supply chains, including those in the fashion industry. We will update the House once the review is complete.
We have already announced measures to tackle late payments through additional reporting requirements for large firms and launched a new Fair Payment Code which aims to boost cash flow for small businesses, crucial for their survival, by tackling late payments and lengthy payment terms that can lead to financial strain and failure.