World Stroke Day

Jas Athwal Excerpts

Tuesday 28th October 2025 Westminster Hall

[Jas Athwal (Ilford South) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Vaz. I, too, thank the hon. Member for Twickenham (Munira Wilson) for securing this important and timely debate and for sharing her personal stories.

We have heard the statistics: stroke is the UK’s fourth biggest killer and the single largest cause of complex disability. Stroke survivors’ lives are completely altered. Some are left paralysed, their fondest memories are lost and old personality traits and mannerisms are erased by new, unfamiliar ones. Loved ones experience the heartbreak of seeing someone they love become a shell of their former self.

The aftermath of a stroke often extends beyond the physical changes. Many survivors are left with the trauma and grief of being sick and of losing within a matter of minutes the ability to do some of the things they were once able to do, and overwhelmed by the fear they might experience stroke all over again.

However, there is a reason to be hopeful. How fast we act when someone experiences a stroke can have a profound impact on their journey to recovery. The minutes and hours after a stroke can be the difference between a good and a poor quality of life, and even between life and death. That is why I was very pleased that last November the NHS expanded its FAST stroke campaign, reminding us of the key signs of stroke: F for face, A for arm, S for speech and T for time to act. By recognising those warning signs, we can act and improve survivors’ futures. The NHS campaign demonstrates that stroke signs can be less pronounced, like someone being unable to finish reading a bedtime story to their grandchild or someone suddenly feeling that they are unable to smile.

I was particularly pleased to hear that the new campaign has been making its way to ethnic minority TV channels and on to social media to raise awareness. Researching for this debate, I came across an alarming study revealing that ethnic minority patients tend to have strokes about five years earlier and are at least twice as likely to face serious complications or death. The study highlighted the fact that that disparity co-exists with many chronic health conditions such as increased rates of diabetes, a condition that also increases the risk of stroke.

That is why this World Stroke Day we need to focus our efforts on prevention and awareness. We need to continue promoting a healthy lifestyle to all, and ensuring that those from ethnic minorities have the same awareness about stroke, so that they can benefit from better health outcomes. World Stroke Day provides us with the opportunity to pay tribute to carers at home and in the NHS, to raise awareness of the signs of stroke—remember the FAST acronym—and to acknowledge the bravery and perseverance of stroke survivors. I say to the Minister, “Please end the postcode lottery and improve the care in the community.” Stroke strikes indiscriminately, so the 10-year plan must address the inadequacies and differences across the country. I appeal to the Minister to reach out.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jas Athwal Excerpts

Tuesday 21st October 2025 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Kinnock]

The hon. Lady makes a very valid point: this is about the shift from hospital to community, which we have to drive forward. In September 2025, 12,522 virtual ward beds were available—an increase from 12,497 in September 2024. Slowly but surely, we are increasing the number of virtual ward beds and the capability of virtual wards, but there is still a long way to go. I absolutely accept the point that the hon. Lady makes.

[Jas Athwal (Ilford South) (Lab)]

17. What steps he is taking to transfer care from hospitals into the community.

[The Minister for Care (Stephen Kinnock)]

The Darzi investigation found that NHS resources are too focused on hospitals at the expense of community care. Our reforms will turn the NHS into more of a neighbourhood health service. We have already recruited an extra 2,000 more GPs, we are rolling out 700,000 extra dental appointments, and we have agreed a new contract of investment and reform for community pharmacy. As part of our 10-year plan, we will be rolling out neighbourhood health centres across the country, starting with the places that are in the greatest need.

[Jas Athwal]

I thank my hon. Friend for his answer, and for the brilliant work that the whole team is doing to put the NHS 10-year plan into action. Transferring care into the community will give many more patients quick and easy access to specialist care when they need it. However, access to Parkinson’s nurses—who are worth their weight in gold—remains deeply unequal. Too often, patients are left without nurses and have to travel a long way to see a specialist nurse. Worse still, the few Parkinson’s nurses who are available are predominantly funded by Parkinson’s UK. Can the Minister set out what steps are being taken to increase equitable access to Parkinson’s nurses across the country?

[Stephen Kinnock]

I thank my hon. Friend for that question, and congratulate him on his work campaigning on this issue. Regular support and advice from a Parkinson’s disease nurse specialist is highlighted as a key intervention in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines on Parkinson’s disease in adults. The forthcoming 10-year workforce plan will support the 10-year health plan by addressing workforce shortages and skills gaps. This will be crucial to delivering quality and accessible care for those with Parkinson’s.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jas Athwal Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Wes Streeting]

I absolutely give the right hon. Gentleman the assurance that I would be happy to meet him about his constituency issue, or indeed anything else. For all of the exchanges that we have across these Dispatch Boxes on issues of disagreement, what is not always readily understood beyond this House is the extent to which those on both sides work extremely constructively together, on the enormous number of issues that we have in common, in pursuit of the national interest. The virtues of wisdom, kindness and selfless dedication to public service are not the preserve of one side of the House. The right hon. Gentleman has those qualities in abundance, and we wish him very well, personally and professionally.

[Jas Athwal (Ilford South) (Lab)]

T2.   UK doctors and nurses have been volunteering their time in Gaza. There are shocking reports this morning that Israel’s ground offensive in central Gaza has compromised the efforts of the World Health Organisation after its facilities came under attack. In the light of that extremely concerning news, does the Secretary of State agree that those supporting the health response in Gaza, including UK doctors, nurses and volunteers, must never be targeted, and that Israel must comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law?

[Wes Streeting]

I deplore Israel’s attacks on healthcare workers, as well as those on innocent civilians trying to access healthcare or vital aid. These actions go well beyond legitimate self-defence and undermine the prospects for peace. I will be in touch with the World Health Organisation to offer my support following the intolerable incident yesterday. I sincerely hope that the international community can come together, as my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has been driving for, to ensure that we see an end to this war, but also the recognition of the state of Palestine while there is still a state of Palestine left to recognise.

Resident Doctors: Industrial Action

Jas Athwal Excerpts

Thursday 10th July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Wes Streeting]

We will not be reopening this year’s pay award because we simply cannot afford to, and it would not be fair on others in the NHS workforce, regardless. I honestly do not regret the deal that we struck last year, without which we would not have made the progress that we have on NHS waiting lists, which are now at their lowest level in two years. We have made that considerable progress by working together.

I do not think that the staff themselves are the drain on productivity; instead, the obstacles we face are the systems and pathways in which staff work and the conditions in the NHS—we are in real agreement on those things. I urge the BMA to keep all that under consideration before its next public intervention, which I hope will be to accept the offer to get around the table to avert the strike action that I think the whole House agrees is unnecessary, unreasonable and unfair.

[Jas Athwal (Ilford South) (Lab)]

I thank my right hon. Friend for his statement, which was delivered with the humility and pragmatism that is his usual professional style. After a 28.9% pay rise thanks to this Labour Government, does the Secretary of State agree that the public are not only dismayed by the actions of the BMA, but distraught and that, once again, it will be the patients who will suffer the most by this action, which is so unnecessary at this particular moment?

Children’s Health

Jas Athwal Excerpts

Thursday 10th July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Jas Athwal (Ilford South) (Lab)]

In London, 20% of reception age children are overweight or obese, and that nearly doubles to 39% of children in year 6. The crisis of childhood obesity does not just pose future health risks; rather, it is impacting children right now. Factors include a lack of after-school activities, deprivation and poverty, the constant bombardment of fast food adverts and the concentration of fast food chains near schools. However, for the sake of brevity, I will focus on the proximity of fast food outlets to schools and the constant advertising campaign against children.

In Ilford South, there are nearly 50% more fast food chains than there were 15 years ago. Despite planning restrictions, applicants always find loopholes to exploit. That is compounded by the fact that healthy food is double the price of fast food and that the closure of youth centres means there are limited places for kids to exercise. Fast food outlets have become the cheapest, most convenient and easiest choice for kids to go after school. I welcome the new national planning policy framework, which empowers local councils with stronger powers to block fast food outlets from opening near schools, allowing authorities to prioritise children’s health.

The second insidious factor coercing these children into consuming fast food is the relentless barrage of advertising. Alarmingly, many adverts are specifically designed to target children. Bite Back, a youth-led movement challenging the food system, surveyed some of the UK’s largest companies and reported that 78% of products specifically aimed at children were classed as unhealthy. For children from deprived areas, the advertising campaign is even more severe, because junk food ads are six times more likely to appear in deprived areas than wealthier areas. These companies are exploiting children—especially those in poverty—for profit. Bite Back puts it just about right: fast-food advertising is “enticing, effective and everywhere”.

Childhood obesity is not simply the result of poor personal choices or bad parenting; structural factors coerce children into making unhealthy choices. As a Government, it is our duty to recognise the social and financial cost of allowing this to continue, and we are showing courage and making progress. By empowering local councils, banning advertising and delivering the NHS 10-year plan, which centres prevention, we are laying the groundwork for lasting change. We may not reap the benefits tomorrow or next year, but in five or 10 years we will see children living longer and healthier because of the choices we make today.

NHS 10-Year Plan

Jas Athwal Excerpts

Thursday 3rd July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Sir Roger Gale)]

Order. Some 20 Members are still seeking to ask questions, and we have an important debate to follow. The questions are getting longer, and so, I fear, Minister, are the answers. Can I urge brevity again, please?

[Jas Athwal (Ilford South) (Lab)]

I also thank my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for a bold and ambitious plan. Over the past few months, I have had the privilege of connecting with some really inspiring people across my constituency, such as Jagdeep Aujla. His Dopamine Warriors boxing club, which the Secretary of State visited some weeks ago, sets a powerful example. Jagdeep’s boxing club offers a safe, empowering space for people living with Parkinson’s to connect with each other, maintain their fitness, and slow the progression of the condition. Will my right hon. Friend outline how the Government’s 10-year health plan will support the shift from hospital to community, so that more support is available on people’s doorsteps, particularly organisations such as the Dopamine Warriors?

[Wes Streeting]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend and parliamentary neighbour for his question. He is right that I recently had the joy of visiting Jagdeep and the Dopamine Warriors in my constituency—they do brilliant work, which underscores why we have to work in partnership with community groups and the voluntary sector. They provide great support for patient groups and their families in a way that would not be nearly so good even if the NHS tried to provide it, so I can absolutely assure my hon. Friend that that partnership will be at the heart of the 10-year plan. I also note that he is campaigning for an upgrade to the A&E at Queen’s hospital in Romford. As he knows, I am not empowered to make that decision, but my hon. Friend the Minister for Secondary Care will have heard that case.

Parkinson’s Awareness Month

Jas Athwal Excerpts

Thursday 1st May 2025 Commons Chamber

[Jas Athwal (Ilford South) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Dunfermline and Dollar (Graeme Downie) for securing this vital debate, for speaking so eloquently and for highlighting the work we still have to do and the shortcomings we still have to overcome. I also thank Members across the Chamber for making such moving and powerful speeches to make the point that we must do more.

Every hour, two people’s lives are forever changed by a Parkinson’s diagnosis. That is some 18,000 men and women every year receiving a diagnosis that casts a shadow over their future. One of those people is my constituent, Jagdeep—a husband, a father, a son, a brother. He shared with me that when he received his diagnosis, he broke down right outside the hospital. Jagdeep is a strong personality with strong physical attributes, with a black belt in karate. He grew up in the east end and is tough as nails, but Parkinson’s broke him down that day.

Parkinson’s Awareness Month provides a precious opportunity to raise awareness about these personal battles, to discuss how we can support our constituents with the disease and to spotlight the resilience of those with Parkinson’s.

Today, I wish to share Jagdeep’s story. Although Jagdeep’s initial diagnosis was overwhelming, he told me how his faith anchored him and gave him the courage to turn this challenge into a mission of Seva, a Sikh principle of selfless service. In 2022, he raised £15,000 for Parkinson’s UK, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro with his daughter. Two years later, he trekked the Annapurna circuit in Nepal, and, most recently, he travelled to Uganda to support those with Parkinson’s. He has achieved great feats abroad. At home in Ilford he has achieved something even greater: he has built a community for those living with Parkinson’s. Having taught martial arts for 35 years, he launched the Dopamine Warriors Boxing Club, a free weekly boxing class designed specifically for those with Parkinson’s.

Exercise such as boxing has been proven to slow down the progression of Parkinson’s. For the nearly 50 attendees coming to his classes from across east London, Jagdeep’s club has proved a lifeline. Attendees come from all walks of life, backgrounds and ethnicities. These classes have become a space without stigma—a space where having tremors does not set people apart, and a space where people can connect with one another.

I have one story that particularly moved me. Jagdeep mentioned that a new attendee arrived at the class in a wheelchair as a result of his symptoms. By the end of his first session, he left the class on his own two feet. The camaraderie in the class gave him the encouragement that he needed to be able to stand up. I am glad that part of the Labour Government’s 10-year plan for the NHS is shifting care into the community.

In his own corner of the world, Jagdeep is making that vision a reality. His classes demonstrate that although we may not yet have a cure for Parkinson’s, we do have the ability to improve people’s lives now, by building spaces, like the boxing club, to provide people with a sense of belonging, community and encouragement. We owe it to Jagdeep and to every other person battling this disease to match their courage with our action—by fighting for our NHS, by investing in our community care, and by ensuring that, regardless of a cure, no one faces Parkinson’s alone.

Ambulance Response Times

Jas Athwal Excerpts

Thursday 6th March 2025 Westminster Hall

[Jas Athwal (Ilford South) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Jardine. I thank the hon. Member for Glastonbury and Somerton (Sarah Dyke) for securing this much-needed debate.

It is incumbent on us to get the waiting times down to the level that we all expect because in a medical emergency every second counts. Every minute without the right care could mean the difference between life or death, independence or disability, full recovery or a lifetime of complications. Yet, across nearly all categories, ambulances are failing to meet their target response times. They are often stuck waiting instead of saving lives, held up by staff shortages or gridlocked outside hospitals with no beds to offload patients. I know this from personal experience because my health trust suffers from it more than most in London. We all have a stake in improving our NHS. We all want to see more beds, more timely treatment and a healthcare system that keeps our friends, neighbours and families healthier for longer.

Last year, Labour�s Budget unlocked �22.6 billion in funding for the NHS over the next two years to pay our doctors fairly, to provide critical hospital beds, and to end the backlog, but for emergency services there remains a critical issue that pumping money into the NHS alone will not fix: staff shortages. Paramedics have one of the highest turnover rates of any profession. Although the number of paramedics has increased since March 2018, absence caused by poor mental health has also increased and so has the number of staff leaving the field all together. Between 2022 and 2023, nearly 7,000 paramedics left their jobs�a 51% increase in leavers from 2019-2020. Without enough staff, ambulances cannot operate at full capacity and response times suffer.

In the current state of the NHS, paramedics are overworked, stretched to the limit and living with the consequences of underfunding and lack of support. Burnout is not just a risk; it is their reality. Who can blame paramedics for wanting to leave? Let us be clear: we have reached this point not because paramedics are not working hard enough, because they are, but because the emergency services have become a safety net. Without preventive measures such as screening, GP appointments or adequate social care, patients get treated only when their condition has escalated to a true emergency, putting undue stress on services. When patients can be treated only once their condition has become an emergency, it is a failure of the system and it increases pressure on our emergency services. It is a bad deal for patients and for those working tirelessly in our emergency services�a deal made possible by 14 years of Tory mismanagement, underfunding and neglect.

If we want better health outcomes and to meet our response time targets, we must make bold structural changes. We need to ensure that paramedics are not carrying the burden of overstretched services in every corner of the NHS. We must ensure that all parts of the NHS function well, from community screenings to adequate support for paramedics, who should be able to continue in their roles and not be driven out because the system has made it unbearable to stay. Every minute counts for overworked paramedics at breaking point and the patients who desperately need their care. I look to the Minister to do the heavy lifting and fix the broken system, which will be the difference between life and death.

[Christine Jardine (in the Chair)]

I call Nicholas Timothy.

Cardiovascular Disease: Prevention

Jas Athwal Excerpts

Thursday 13th February 2025 Westminster Hall

[Jas Athwal (Ilford South) (Lab)]

May I say what an honour it is to serve under the chairmanship of such a multi-talented, multi-functional Chair?

[David Mundell (in the Chair)]

You can speak for as long as you want. [Laughter.]

[Jas Athwal]

I thank the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) for securing this important debate.

Cardiovascular disease changes lives, takes lives and robs families of loved ones. I speak from personal experience: my father has been gone for 29 years and my mother for 28 years because of cardiovascular disease, so I know it absolutely robs families of loved ones. Across the UK, cardiovascular disease alone is responsible for one in four premature deaths. Beyond the personal impact it has on families, cardiovascular disease also places an enormous burden on our NHS, costing more than £7.5 billion per year. Preventive medicine and early detection can save lives, keep families together and reduce the burden on our NHS.

While preventive measures can take many different forms, which my colleagues have addressed today, I will focus on early diagnosis, as I know personally how critical it can be. In 2023, having cycled 85 miles on a Sunday, I felt the healthiest and strongest I had ever felt in my life, but one precautionary test taken purely to reassure myself that I was fit shattered my illusions and changed my life, but ultimately saved it. I was diagnosed with chronic heart disease. Within weeks, I had a triple heart bypass. Had I not taken that test, I believe that I would not be here today. Early detection saved my life, and it can save millions more.

In my constituency of Ilford South, a community-based study was conducted across four GP practices by Dr Laskar and Professor Lloyd from Barts hospital. Non-specialist healthcare workers used handheld echocardiogram devices to screen 518 local people. The study found that 22% of those screened were referred for specialist assessments, potentially saving the lives of one in five of those screened. The study in Ilford South demonstrates how we can detect serious conditions early without requiring expensive hospital visits later.

As my hon. Friend the Member for Dudley (Sonia Kumar) just said, prevention and early intervention save lives. By investing in local healthcare services and using tools such as the handheld echocardiogram device, we can catch problems sooner, treat people faster and relieve pressure on our overstretched hospitals sooner. Early diagnosis is not just a medical advantage, but lifesaving. It delivers more time with loved ones, less strain on our NHS and a future in which fewer lives are cut short. We have a golden opportunity to prolong life and to give the gift of life, and I urge the Minister to grab it with both hands.

--- Later in debate ---

[Stephen Kinnock]

This has been an interesting debate on so many levels. I thank you for that clarification, Mr Mundell.

I was just talking about the fact that around 70% of the CVD burden is preventable, and that the causes include obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and smoking. All those factors can be reduced by behaviour changes, early identification and treatment. In England, the NHS health check is a free check-up for people between 40 and 74. It is a wide-reaching programme delivered by local authorities in England. This CVD prevention programme aims to prevent heart disease, stroke, diabetes and kidney disease, as well as dementia for older patients. It engages over 1.4 million people a year and, through behavioural and clinical interventions, prevents around 500 heart attacks or strokes annually.

I agree with the hon. Member for Strangford that the National Audit Office report shows that there is still so much more to be done. That is why we have asked officials to be more ambitious, developing policy proposals for how that programme can go even further. In the meantime, we are focused on delivering a new digital NHS health check, available through the NHS app, so that people can assess, understand and act on their CVD risk at home. We want to make it easier for people to access that programme, especially our constituents who have caring or childcare responsibilities, or cannot easily get to their GP surgery during opening hours. The creation of a state-of-the-art national digital NHS check service will improve access to this lifesaving check.

The hon. Member was right to mention diabetes as a key risk for CVD. Each year, the NHS health check identifies 22,000 people with high blood sugar who are referred on to primary care for further assessment and management. GPs can refer people at risk of developing type 2 diabetes into the Healthier You NHS diabetes prevention programme. The programme has been highly effective: some 35,000 people have been referred to it by their GP, and over 20,000 have started the programme since September 2020. For people who complete that programme, it can cut the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 37%. For those who already have diabetes and are overweight or obese, the NHS type 2 path to remission programme is available. This joint initiative between NHS England and Diabetes UK aims to support eligible people with type 2 diabetes to achieve clinically significant weight loss, improve blood glucose levels and reduce the need for diabetes-related medication. A recent study found that almost a third of patients with type 2 diabetes who completed the programme went into remission.

Around half of heart attacks and strokes are a result of high blood pressure. A third of adults have high blood pressure and, worryingly, almost a third of these conditions are currently untreated, meaning that over 4 million people do not know that they have high blood pressure. It is often referred to as the silent killer, as high blood pressure is largely symptomless. The tragedy is that the treatment is so cheap and effective. We could prevent around 17,000 heart attacks and save more than £20 million in healthcare costs alone over three years just by treating 80% of patients on target.

The hon. Member for Strangford also mentioned high levels of cholesterol as a key risk factor in CVD. For every three NHS health checks delivered, one person is found to have high cholesterol, and there are well-known health inequalities in CVD affecting underserved communities in England. Addressing undetected and poorly managed high blood pressure and raised cholesterol is key to preventing CVD and reducing health inequalities.

There are effective drug treatments. Statins are readily available and very cheap. They can reduce an individual’s risk of CVD in four to six weeks. If we improve treatment rates for people with CVD to 95%, more than 18,000 CVD events, such as heart attacks and strokes, may be prevented over three years. We will look closely at how we can get that done. The hon. Member for Strangford called for the introduction of Lp(a) tests. As I mentioned, that is not currently recommended by NICE guidelines. I have taken account of his other remarks, including his request for a meeting and engagement with system partners. The Minister for Public Health and Prevention will take all those requests on board. She is the right person for him to meet, given that she leads in this policy area.

Smoking costs health and care services £3 billion a year—resources that could be freed up to deliver millions more appointments, scans and operations. The cost of smoking to our economy is even greater, with around £18 billion lost in productivity every year. Smokers are a third more likely to be off work sick, which is why we introduced the Tobacco and Vapes Bill: the biggest public health intervention in a generation. It will break the cycle of addiction and disadvantage, and put us on track towards a smoke-free UK. That will make a real difference in constituencies where smoking contributes to the cycle of poverty and ill health. We are also supporting local stop smoking services with an additional £70 million this financial year.

Today’s debate has shown what a challenging and complex area this is. The shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Hinckley and Bosworth (Dr Evans), raised a range of issues. I will ask the Minister for Public Health and Prevention to write to him on all his points, many of which I think would be best dealt with in correspondence.

[Jas Athwal]

The Minister makes powerful points. Does he agree that we should consider a wider, holistic approach, taking into account planning and advertising—for instance, children going to school and having access to the proliferation of chicken shops and fast-food shops, and being exposed to, on average, 13 to 15 junk food adverts? That would help to limit the number of heart diseases later down the line.

[Stephen Kinnock]

My hon. Friend is right that prevention should focus on as early as possible in the life of our young people. Bad habits form at early ages. That is not helped by the behaviour of some aspects of our economy, and the way in which products are advertised. It is essential that we move to a model of prevention that is a partnership between the Government, our communities and business. We are taking action against the advertisement of certain products before the 9 o’clock watershed. We are also cracking down on energy drinks, which are really pernicious in terms of the amount of sugar, caffeine and other deeply unhealthy components they contain.

My hon. Friend is right that we are genuinely all in this together. We need that partnership with the private sector, and a change in mindset around healthy and nutritious food. That needs to be put into schools through community health, and through working with parents and communities to change the habits of our country. We have a gargantuan challenge ahead of us, but our Government are absolutely committed to facing it, and that prevention strategy will be at the heart of our 10-year plan. It is one of the key shifts from sickness to prevention.

That leads me to my closing remarks. We have seen today what a challenging and complex area this is. It is a challenge that requires sustained action on a number of risk factors, but I assure colleagues that this Government will leave no stone unturned in getting premature deaths from heart disease and stroke down by a quarter for people under the age of 75 within the next year.

In my contribution, I have sought to demonstrate our commitment to getting on with the shift from sickness to prevention with our cast-iron commitment to expanding NHS health checks, the shift from hospital and community by making it easier for people to get checks at their convenience and at home, and the shift from analogue to digital through an innovative and expanded digital service. I once again thank the hon. Member for Strangford for securing this important debate, and thank all hon. Members across all parties for their excellent contributions. Watch this space: we will continue to work on this issue with focus and at pace.

Obesity: Food and Diet

Jas Athwal Excerpts

Monday 20th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Jas Athwal (Ilford South) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Stroud (Dr Opher) for securing this much-needed debate. I also thank the right hon. Member for Wetherby and Easingwold (Sir Alec Shelbrooke) for sharing his testimony about how he lost 7 stone in such a short time—I tip my turban to him.

I have my own story. I lost 2 stone in two months because of what a doctor told me. Forget the nanny state: he said to me in no uncertain terms, “If you don’t lose weight, you won’t be here in a couple of years’ time.” I went home reeling from that news and did exactly what he told me to do. I lost the weight, had a fantastic body mass index and then I went back for my tests.

However, let me be clear: people cannot undo 20, 30 or 40 years of damage. If we lose somebody, we wish we could have had an extra day to say goodbye, to thank them or just speak to them one more time. Obesity, which leads to so many other diseases, robs people of five, 10 or 15 years of their lives, and means grandchildren are not able to speak to their grandparents. Why? Because those grandparents have passed away. We have to take that on board and counter it.

When I went back for my tests, I asked for an extra test, because I am one of those people who likes to be told—I am quite vain—how fit and healthy I am. I asked for an extra scan, and I got it. To my shock and horror, that extra scan revealed one of my arteries was completely blocked and the other, the left anterior descending artery, affectionately known as the “widow maker”, was 95% blocked, even though I had cycled 85 km the previous day. Very quickly, I went into Barts hospital where I underwent triple heart bypass surgery, and I lived to tell the tale. It was all because of years of decline.

While some conditions cannot be avoided, obesity can. When I say that my BMI was 27, the answer is always that BMI is not something to be relied on, but it is the best scale we have. In Ilford South, where 75% are from the Asian subcontinent, 25 is not the BMI number we should be looking at—it should be 23. I am struggling myself, because my BMI is hovering at 24. Another cultural shift is needed—it Is a cultural problem—because when people look at me, having lost 2 stone, they say, “Are you okay? You look unhealthy.”

[Sir Alec Shelbrooke]

I chuckled to myself when the hon. Gentleman said that, because people ask me if something is seriously wrong. He emphasises the point that weight, whether thin or fat, is a stigmatised subject. Even when people are trying to get themselves healthy, they get criticism. We have to expose that and get on top of it.

[Jas Athwal]

I absolutely agree. People have come round to check on me and ask me whether I really am okay or if I have an underlying problem, because I have lost so much weight. The only downside to losing weight is that it is very expensive—I have needed a new wardrobe.

Obesity is the leading preventable cause of death. Imagine the prize of an extra five, 10 or 15 years with loved ones: tackling obesity can give people more time with those they love. Obesity costs the NHS billions of pounds and impacts many livelihoods. In my constituency of Ilford South, obesity rates are 10% higher than in the rest of London. My neighbours and their loved ones are struggling and suffering unnecessarily.

The obesity crisis is threefold. Access to affordable, healthy food has decreased, while the prevalence of processed food and fast-food outlets has increased. In Ilford, the number of fast-food outlets has grown by a staggering 47.1% in just the last 10 years. Nearly a third of children in my constituency are overweight. They are bombarded with adverts everywhere on their way to school. Even worse, youth clubs have dwindled, leaving many young people with fewer warm places to go after school to enjoy themselves, exercise and socialise.

The affordability of healthy food, the accessibility of unhealthy food and reduced support for young people have fostered an environment in which unhealthy habits are growing. People do not even know how to cook, which causes a crisis of obesity, robs children of the best start in life and sets them up for a lifetime of health problems. We need to be bold enough to confront the growing trend, which is why we are here today. To tackle the accessibility of unhealthy food, Redbridge council set out a local plan to ban fast food outlets 400 metres from school gates, but were they banned? They were not. The Mayor of London’s plan says the same thing. We need to give planning policies the necessary teeth to stop fast food outlets opening right outside schools, and the adverts that bombard our children on the way to and from school.

To increase the affordability of healthy food, we have to work with charities. In Redbridge, we are working with a food bank to create facilities to store fresh fruit and vegetables. Last Friday, I had the privilege of being shown the food bank’s new premises, which we had been working on for the past 18 months. I was shown the cold storage where we will store vegetables. It was mentioned earlier that food banks should be able to store vegetables, because that is the healthy way forward. To give young people a place to go after school, we led investments in local youth centres. We need a holistic approach. We need to look at not just food itself but everything in society.

On a national scale, we have to make changes to protect young people from obesity. The Government must do that by fulfilling our Labour manifesto commitment to ensure that children are no longer exposed to TV adverts for junk food. We have banned paid online junk food adverts, preventing the overexposure of young people to unhealthy, processed and fatty foods, but we can and must do more. As has been mentioned two or three times, we must move away from viewing obesity through the lens of judgment, and confront the ways we have allowed unhealthy choices to be the easiest choices. We must break down the barriers to healthy eating, prevent the manipulation and exploitation of young people, and support everyone to live healthier lives.