Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she made of the impact of lead pollution on (a) children's and (b) other people's health.

Exposure to lead can result in a range of adverse health effects, including effects on the cardiovascular, immune, reproductive and neurological systems. Unborn and young children are particularly at risk as lead exposure can adversely affect development of the nervous system.

Several measures have been implemented in the United Kingdom to reduce exposure to lead, including the phasing out of lead in paint, petrol, food cans and water pipes. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) runs the Lead Exposure in Children Surveillance System (LEICSS), for reporting cases of elevated lead exposure in England. The aim of LEICSS is to facilitate public health action in individual cases, to reduce the effects of lead exposure.

Information on the health effects of lead is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/lead-properties-incident-management-and-toxicology.