Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of levels of deprivation on lung health in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency, (b) Staffordshire and (c) England.

The 10-Year Health Plan will deliver the three big shifts our National Health Service needs to be fit for the future: from hospital to community; from analogue to digital; and from sickness to prevention. All of these are relevant to improving respiratory health in all parts of the country.

More tests and scans delivered in the community will allow for earlier diagnosis, better joint working between services, and greater use of apps and wearable technology will all help people manage their long-term conditions, including respiratory conditions, closer to home. Earlier diagnosis of conditions will help prevent deterioration and improve survival rates.

The prevalence of smoking in adults, current smokers who are 18 years old and over, in Newcastle under Lyme and Staffordshire is lower than the overall England average, at 8.8% and 9.0% respectively, compared to the overall England average of 12.4%.

Urgent cancer referrals for suspected lung cancer in the Staffordshire and Stoke Integrated Care Board are much higher than the England average. However, the mortality rate from lung cancer, chronic obstructive airways disease, heart disease, and stroke associated with smoking in Staffordshire is similar to the England average.

We are taking action to reduce the causes of the biggest killers, for instance by enabling a smoke free generation to further help prevent lung conditions.

It is the most disadvantaged who suffer the most from the financial and health burden of smoking, with 230,000 households living in smoking induced poverty and with smoking being the number one preventable cause of death, disability, and ill health, claiming the lives of approximately 80,000 people a year in the United Kingdom, and being the leading cause of lung cancer. The landmark Tobacco and Vapes Bill will create the first smoke-free generation, ending the cycle of addiction and disadvantage and putting us on track to a smoke-free UK.