Restaurants: Calorie Labelling

Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate Excerpts

Tuesday 9th July 2019 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford]

I thank my noble friend for her question; she is absolutely right that increasing physical activity is a key part of the childhood obesity plan. That is exactly why the revenue from the soft drinks industry levy is being invested in improving childhood health and well-being in this way, including doubling the primary PE and sport premium to £320 million a year. This has included a commitment to every school in the country including the daily mile, or something similar. We are particularly pleased about that, but we also believe that work needs to be done in supporting parents, and PHE is working on that.

[Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, parents carry some responsibility. What disturbs me—I would like to know whether the Minister agrees—is that I often see parents with young children who have a scooter. The child will stand on the scooter and the parent pushes the child all the way to school, so the child gets no exercise whatever. It seems to defeat the whole purpose. Are the Government doing anything to remedy this by means of advertising?

[Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford]

The noble Lord has asked a most innovative question, to which I do not have an immediate answer in my notes. I hazard a guess that scooters offer some balance benefits, but I shall get back to him on that.

NHS: Bullying

Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate Excerpts

Wednesday 5th June 2019 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford]

The noble Baroness is right that non-disclosure agreements cannot cover up bullying. All staff are free to speak up. Non-disclosure agreements should not be used for that purpose in any case. The Government have been very clear on this.

[Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, I am sure noble Lords will recall my maiden speech 21 years ago, when I spoke about bullying in schools. One of the points that I made then, and I shall make again now, is that an answer to this problem is an independent hotline which people can ring to report misconduct of all kinds, not just bullying, so that organisations do not seek retribution for those who report misconduct.

[Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford]

I am afraid I was not here 21 years ago to hear the noble Lord’s maiden speech, but I shall look it up with utmost urgency upon leaving the Chamber and I thank him for his proposal. As the work moves from the interim people plan to the people plan, in which the work on bullying and the violence reduction strategy will be developed, I am sure that his proposal will be considered as a very sensible plan.

Health: Stroke

Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate Excerpts

Wednesday 14th November 2018 Lords Chamber

[Lord O’Shaughnessy]

The noble Baroness is right about prevention. There are lots of ways that we can prevent stroke, including by reducing hypertension, obesity and other things. Of course that will be a big part of it. She will know that decisions about funding for Public Health England will be taken at the spending review.

[Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, the Minister will be aware that one of the medical conditions that can lead to stroke is atrial fibrillation. The important thing is to treat the patient once it is discovered. Some time ago, I attended a demonstration in the Palace of Westminster where patients put their hand on to a machine which detected whether they had that problem so that they could be treated. The idea was that the machine would be rolled out into doctors’ surgeries so that people could use it while they were waiting. How is that scheme progressing?

[Lord O’Shaughnessy]

The noble Lord is quite right that patients with atrial fibrillation have a five times greater risk of stroke. Most patients are diagnosed but about 300,000 are not yet, so finding them is critical. The tests are available now not just in GPs’ surgeries but increasingly in pharmacies. I will write to him with specific details about the rollout.

Children and Young People: Mental Health

Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate Excerpts

Wednesday 28th March 2018 Lords Chamber

[Lord O'Shaughnessy]

I do not have a specific time, but I point to two things. First, there are now waiting time standards for early intervention in psychosis and eating disorders. Those waiting time standards will become more exacting over time, but they are being met at the moment. The Green Paper also proposes a pilot of four-week waiting times for access to specialist services in the NHS. We have a long way to go—average waits are 12 weeks—so we are inevitably starting incrementally, but the ambition is that over time, we will roll that out as a nationwide ambition. However, I am afraid that I cannot give the noble Baroness a deadline.

[Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, a lot of mental health issues among young people, including bullying and suicides, are caused by the use of social media. Is this an area that the Government should be addressing urgently?

[Lord O'Shaughnessy]

It absolutely is, and the Green Paper covers some of these issues, both in terms of providing resilience for young people themselves and getting social media to act more responsibly.

Health: Atrial Fibrillation and Stroke

Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate Excerpts

Tuesday 12th December 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord O'Shaughnessy]

I too am in that age range. I am afraid I cannot tell the noble Baroness what the global figures are, but I shall write to her to do so.

[Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, a couple of years ago I attended a clinic in this House where there was a device, on which you placed your hand, which diagnosed whether you had atrial fibrillation. The idea was that these would be rolled out into doctors’ surgeries, where people could test themselves while in the waiting rooms. How is that progressing?

[Lord O'Shaughnessy]

The noble Lord is quite right that this is a very easily diagnosable condition through checking pulses. The device that he described and other ones are doing that. They are in every GP surgery and form part of the health checks that the noble Baroness talked about. As I said, I do not have the figures for just how many of those are taking place, but we know that 300,000 people are undiagnosed with this condition. Many of them will be in regular contact with the health service, and this is about making sure that GPs use the opportunity to carry out those tests, which will inform the treatment that follows.