Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Public Health England

Tuesday 23 February 2021 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Government is considering future arrangements for Public Health England's health improvement functions.
  • Engagement with stakeholders has been ongoing during the planning process.
  • Secretary of State has new powers of direction in areas like obesity.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Paul Maynard Con
NHS
Context

The question arises from ongoing discussions about restructuring Public Health England's functions.

Question

What plans does the government have to reform the public health improvement functions of Public Health England?

Answer from Jo Churchill

We are currently considering the best future arrangements for Public Health England's important health improvement functions. We have been engaging with key stakeholders throughout the process and will be setting out further details of our approach in due course. We are excited about creating the national institute for health protection to ensure additional capacity so that we have future capability and a laser-like focus on areas of health inequality.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specifics on future arrangements were not detailed, only stated as being considered with further details coming later.

How: We Will Be Setting Out Further Details In Due Course

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Q2 Paul Maynard Con
NHS
Context

Blackpool faces significant public health challenges, and discussions about Public Health England's functions have been ongoing.

Question

I very much welcome the plans to reform Public Health England's health protection functions. I note with interest the Secretary of State's new powers of direction in some public areas such as obesity. Blackpool has some of the most severe public health challenges in the country. Further discussions about the health promotion functions of Public Health England were promised when the NIHP was announced, so can the Minister say now how other areas of public health promotion that are not referred to in the White Paper will be addressed?

Answer from Jo Churchill

I thank my hon. Friend for his question, and I recognise the challenges that Blackpool faces. I read with interest the Blackpool town prospectus, which highlights the public health challenges, and I am looking forward to talking to the clinical commissioning group lead about them later this week. We remain convinced that place-based approaches will have the best results, where we can target interventions in the right way when they are needed. Discussions are going on with other Departments, but those specific initiatives are for those Departments themselves.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specifics about addressing public health promotion areas outside of health protection were not detailed, only stated as ongoing discussions.

How: Discussions Are Going On With Other Departments

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