Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps he has taken to help reduce rates of obesity in Slough.

As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan for England, we are taking decisive action on the obesity crisis to shift the focus from treatment to prevention and ease the strain on our National Health Service, including in Slough.

We have fulfilled our commitment to restrict junk food advertising targeted at children on television and online. We have also implemented restrictions on volume price promotions for less healthy food and drink, such as three for the price of two offers, and consulted on our proposals to ban the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children aged under 16 years old.

We will go further by introducing mandatory reporting on the healthiness of sales for all large food businesses and setting new healthier food targets. We will also strengthen the existing advertising and promotions restrictions by applying an updated definition of ‘less healthy food and drink’. We published the updated Nutrient Profiling Model in January, ahead of consulting on its policy application.

To support people already living with obesity, we will double the number of patients able to access the NHS Digital Weight Management Programme. From June 2025, the NHS began making weight loss drugs available through primary care. Approximately 220,000 adults will be considered in the first three years with access prioritised by clinical need. We are committed to expanding NHS access and will work closely with industry and local systems to identify innovative ways to do this.

Officials in the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities’ South East team work closely with local partners including local authorities and the NHS to support them with local initiatives to promote a healthy lifestyle and to tackle obesity.