Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance his Department has issued to clinical care groups on providing surgery for people who are overweight or who smoke.

Individual clinical commissioning groups are responsible for commissioning the care that will provide the best possible outcomes for their patients in line with their legal duties and with regard to National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance for different conditions and treatments.

Weight and smoking status are considerations that clinicians should take into account when considering surgery as a treatment option because these factors have a significant bearing on patient outcomes.