Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to reduce excess winter deaths.

Public Health England (PHE) publishes the Cold Weather Plan for England to avoid preventable illness and deaths in winter by setting out a series of actions for organisations, communities and individuals, to take throughout the year as well as in response to episodes of severe winter weather. The national annual flu plan aims to minimise the health impact of flu through effective monitoring, prevention and treatment, including the immunisation of groups eligible to receive the flu vaccine.

PHE and NHS England have also developed an integrated marketing campaign, Stay Well This Winter. This campaign aims to help those with long-term health conditions (particularly respiratory conditions), those who are 65 or over, pregnant women and parents of under-5s stay well and keep their loved ones well this winter.