Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people have been referred to Weightloss clinics within the last year.

The National Health Service and local government provide a range of services to help people living with overweight and obesity to manage their weight.

Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning health services within their area in line with local population need and taking account of relevant guidance. This includes specialist weight management services, or weight loss clinics, for those living with severe obesity and associated health conditions.

The National Obesity Audit (NOA) aims to bring together existing comparable data from the different types of weight management services across England in order to drive improvement for the benefit of those living with overweight and obesity. Responsibility for the management and collection of referral data sits at a local system level, and not all providers of weight management services are submitting data into the NOA at present. It is therefore not possible to state how many people have been referred to weight loss clinics within the last year.

NHS England continues to develop the NOA with the aim of ensuring it will provide a comprehensive picture of activity, access to services, and health outcomes of patients using weight management services across England.