Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education and the Home Secretary on the Child Protection Authority consultation.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Ministers meet regularly through the Keeping Children Safe Ministerial Board and the Inter-Ministerial Group on Child Sexual Abuse, where the Child Protection Authority (CPA) is regularly discussed. Both of these groups will continue to monitor progress on the delivery of the CPA.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential (a) direct and (b) indirect impact of current levels of (i) ambient and (ii) indoor air pollution on the (A) current and (B) future health of children and young people.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Ambient and indoor air pollution have long- and short-term health impacts on children and young people, for example respiratory effects including reduced lung function and exacerbation of asthma. The Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants has published advice on the susceptibility to air pollution, including for children.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) found that one third of schools in England in 2017 were in areas with fine particulate matter levels exceeding previous World Health Organization guidelines, particularly in income-deprived areas, exacerbating health inequalities.
A recent UKHSA review also found that 315,000 days of school absences in 2019 were attributed to illnesses related to fine particulate matter exposure.
The UKHSA is a key partner in a newly funded project focused on improving indoor air quality and its health implications, including among children in educational settings.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will ask the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition to review whether current vitamin D supplementation recommendations (a) adequately serve all population groups and (b) take adequate account of evidence relating to risks to people with higher melanin concentration.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In 2016, the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) published a robust assessment of the evidence on vitamin D and a wide range of health outcomes resulting in the current advice for everyone to take a 10 microgram, or 400 international units, daily supplement of vitamin D during the autumn and winter. This advice is particularly important for those with limited exposure to sunlight during the spring and summer, those with dark skin, and those who usually wear clothes that cover up most of their skin when outdoors. These groups are more at risk of not having enough vitamin D and these groups are advised to take a vitamin D supplement all year round. The SACN is currently carrying out a rapid review of the vitamin D requirements for people with higher melanin concentration.
Vitamin D intakes and status, the concentrations in the blood, are monitored through the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey. Latest findings, from 2019 to 2023, showed that vitamin D intakes from diet and supplements were below recommendations and low vitamin D concentrations in the blood were found in 18% of adults aged 19 to 64 years old and 23% of children aged 11 to 18 years old. Analysis by ethnicity is not currently possible due to small sample sizes but will be considered in future years.
Government recommendations on vitamin D are promoted on the National Health Service webpage and through public-facing social marketing campaigns, namely Best Start in Life, Better Health, and Healthier Families. These channels help ensure that at-risk groups, as well as the general population, are aware of the importance of supplementation.
Targeted support is also available for families through Government’s Healthy Start scheme which encourages a healthy diet for pregnant women, babies, and young children under four years old from very low-income households. In January 2026, Healthy Start supported over 353,000 pregnant women and children aged under four years old.
Healthy Start beneficiaries are eligible for free Healthy Start Vitamins which include folic acid and vitamins C and D for pregnant and breast-feeding women, and vitamins A, C, and D for children. The formulations are in line with recommendations from the Government’s independent SACN for supplements.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to extend access to free and subsidized vitamin D supplements to at-risk groups identified in NICE PH56.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In 2016, the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) published a robust assessment of the evidence on vitamin D and a wide range of health outcomes resulting in the current advice for everyone to take a 10 microgram, or 400 international units, daily supplement of vitamin D during the autumn and winter. This advice is particularly important for those with limited exposure to sunlight during the spring and summer, those with dark skin, and those who usually wear clothes that cover up most of their skin when outdoors. These groups are more at risk of not having enough vitamin D and these groups are advised to take a vitamin D supplement all year round. The SACN is currently carrying out a rapid review of the vitamin D requirements for people with higher melanin concentration.
Vitamin D intakes and status, the concentrations in the blood, are monitored through the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey. Latest findings, from 2019 to 2023, showed that vitamin D intakes from diet and supplements were below recommendations and low vitamin D concentrations in the blood were found in 18% of adults aged 19 to 64 years old and 23% of children aged 11 to 18 years old. Analysis by ethnicity is not currently possible due to small sample sizes but will be considered in future years.
Government recommendations on vitamin D are promoted on the National Health Service webpage and through public-facing social marketing campaigns, namely Best Start in Life, Better Health, and Healthier Families. These channels help ensure that at-risk groups, as well as the general population, are aware of the importance of supplementation.
Targeted support is also available for families through Government’s Healthy Start scheme which encourages a healthy diet for pregnant women, babies, and young children under four years old from very low-income households. In January 2026, Healthy Start supported over 353,000 pregnant women and children aged under four years old.
Healthy Start beneficiaries are eligible for free Healthy Start Vitamins which include folic acid and vitamins C and D for pregnant and breast-feeding women, and vitamins A, C, and D for children. The formulations are in line with recommendations from the Government’s independent SACN for supplements.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to (a) collect and (b) publish vitamin D deficiency statistics broken down by ethnicity.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In 2016, the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) published a robust assessment of the evidence on vitamin D and a wide range of health outcomes resulting in the current advice for everyone to take a 10 microgram, or 400 international units, daily supplement of vitamin D during the autumn and winter. This advice is particularly important for those with limited exposure to sunlight during the spring and summer, those with dark skin, and those who usually wear clothes that cover up most of their skin when outdoors. These groups are more at risk of not having enough vitamin D and these groups are advised to take a vitamin D supplement all year round. The SACN is currently carrying out a rapid review of the vitamin D requirements for people with higher melanin concentration.
Vitamin D intakes and status, the concentrations in the blood, are monitored through the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey. Latest findings, from 2019 to 2023, showed that vitamin D intakes from diet and supplements were below recommendations and low vitamin D concentrations in the blood were found in 18% of adults aged 19 to 64 years old and 23% of children aged 11 to 18 years old. Analysis by ethnicity is not currently possible due to small sample sizes but will be considered in future years.
Government recommendations on vitamin D are promoted on the National Health Service webpage and through public-facing social marketing campaigns, namely Best Start in Life, Better Health, and Healthier Families. These channels help ensure that at-risk groups, as well as the general population, are aware of the importance of supplementation.
Targeted support is also available for families through Government’s Healthy Start scheme which encourages a healthy diet for pregnant women, babies, and young children under four years old from very low-income households. In January 2026, Healthy Start supported over 353,000 pregnant women and children aged under four years old.
Healthy Start beneficiaries are eligible for free Healthy Start Vitamins which include folic acid and vitamins C and D for pregnant and breast-feeding women, and vitamins A, C, and D for children. The formulations are in line with recommendations from the Government’s independent SACN for supplements.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will develop a vitamin D food fortification policy.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In 2016, the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) published a robust assessment of the evidence on vitamin D and a wide range of health outcomes resulting in the current advice for everyone to take a 10 microgram, or 400 international units, daily supplement of vitamin D during the autumn and winter. This advice is particularly important for those with limited exposure to sunlight during the spring and summer, those with dark skin, and those who usually wear clothes that cover up most of their skin when outdoors. These groups are more at risk of not having enough vitamin D and these groups are advised to take a vitamin D supplement all year round. The SACN is currently carrying out a rapid review of the vitamin D requirements for people with higher melanin concentration.
Vitamin D intakes and status, the concentrations in the blood, are monitored through the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey. Latest findings, from 2019 to 2023, showed that vitamin D intakes from diet and supplements were below recommendations and low vitamin D concentrations in the blood were found in 18% of adults aged 19 to 64 years old and 23% of children aged 11 to 18 years old. Analysis by ethnicity is not currently possible due to small sample sizes but will be considered in future years.
Government recommendations on vitamin D are promoted on the National Health Service webpage and through public-facing social marketing campaigns, namely Best Start in Life, Better Health, and Healthier Families. These channels help ensure that at-risk groups, as well as the general population, are aware of the importance of supplementation.
Targeted support is also available for families through Government’s Healthy Start scheme which encourages a healthy diet for pregnant women, babies, and young children under four years old from very low-income households. In January 2026, Healthy Start supported over 353,000 pregnant women and children aged under four years old.
Healthy Start beneficiaries are eligible for free Healthy Start Vitamins which include folic acid and vitamins C and D for pregnant and breast-feeding women, and vitamins A, C, and D for children. The formulations are in line with recommendations from the Government’s independent SACN for supplements.
Asked by: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what Barnett consequentials arise for Northern Ireland as a result of the £10 million per year funding announced to cover travel costs for children and young people with cancer in England.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department knows that the cost of travel is an important issue for many young cancer patients and their families across the United Kingdom.
Through the National Cancer Plan, the Government is committing up to £10 million a year to a new fund open to all children and young people in England with cancer and their families regardless of income, to support them with the cost of travelling to and from Principal Treatment Centres. This commitment sits alongside wider action to transform cancer care for children and young people.
Health is predominately devolved. Devolved administrations receive funding through the Barnett Formula, and it is ultimately for them to allocate, prioritise, and manage their budgets. However, the Department does work closely with our counterparts in the devolved governments to share expertise and identify new opportunities to improve health and social care delivery across the UK.
Asked by: Ben Spencer (Conservative - Runnymede and Weybridge)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will review the cost of travel for all families of children with health conditions requiring repeated attendance at specialist centres.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the Disabled Children’s Partnership and the Speech, Language and Communication Alliance's 2025 report entitled How to spend less and get better outcomes for children with speech, language challenges.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department recognises that early identification and intervention is critical to improving outcomes for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. We are strengthening the evidence base of what works to improve early identification in mainstream settings. Recently published evidence reviews from University College London highlight the most effective tools and strategies to identify and support different types of needs. We recently announced new government-backed research which will aim to develop and test effective approaches to help early identification.
The department is also working with the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England to improve access to community health services, including speech and language therapy.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to provide support for young people with EHCPs who stay in academic education after the age of 18.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Our forthcoming special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms will improve both access to and the quality of the support provided to enable children and young people with SEND to achieve and thrive at all stages of statutory education. It is already the case that those young people with education, health and care plans (EHCPs) who need more time to complete their learning can retain their EHCP and, where necessary, remain in statutory education until age 25. The EHCP will continue to be reviewed regularly and will set out the support and provision the young person needs to achieve and thrive.
Disabled learners who go on to study in higher education will receive individual reasonable adjustments made by their university or other higher education provider under the Equality Act 2010 and can access Disabled Students’ Allowance for more specialist support.