Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Poor Housing Conditions: Health Outcomes

Tuesday 19 April 2022 · 3 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

  • The hon Gentleman raises a really important issue that we are determined to tackle.
  • Housing is one of the key determinants of health.
  • We are determined through our White Papers to address every health inequality.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Ian Lavery Lab Blyth and Ashington
NHS Housing
Context

The MP notes that the NHS spends over £2.5 billion annually treating illnesses linked to cold, damp, and dangerous living conditions.

Question

What steps are being taken with Cabinet colleagues to tackle the effect of poor housing conditions on health outcomes? The NHS spends a staggering £2.5 billion-plus annually on treating people with illnesses directly linked to living in cold, damp and dangerous conditions. As a consequence, severe respiratory diseases such as asthma, mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases are on the increase, mainly in the most deprived areas. Sadly, more and more people are dying.

Answer from Maggie Throup

The hon. Gentleman raises a really important issue that we are determined to tackle. Housing is one of the key determinants of health. A decent home can promote good health and protect from illness and harm. As he said, poor housing conditions have severe consequences for mental and physical health. That is why we are determined, not just through the levelling-up White Paper but through the health disparities White Paper that will be published later this year, to set out a bold ambition to reduce the gap in health outcomes and the actions that the Government will be taking to address the wider determinants of health, including the impact of poor housing on health.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific plans or commitments on how levelling-up policy tackles urgent health issues related to poor housing conditions are not provided

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Q2 Ian Lavery Lab Blyth and Ashington
NHS Housing
Context

The MP highlights that the NHS spends over £2.5 billion annually treating illnesses caused by cold, damp, dangerous living conditions.

Question

How does the Government's levelling-up policy plan to tackle this increasingly urgent health issue? The NHS spends a staggering £2.5 billion-plus annually on treating people with illnesses directly linked to living in cold, damp and dangerous conditions. As a consequence, severe respiratory diseases such as asthma, mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases are on the increase, mainly in the most deprived areas. Sadly, more and more people are dying.

Answer from Maggie Throup

The hon. Gentleman raises a really important issue that we are determined to tackle. Housing is one of the key determinants of health. A decent home can promote good health and protect from illness and harm. As he said, poor housing conditions have severe consequences for mental and physical health. That is why we are determined, not just through the levelling-up White Paper but through the health disparities White Paper that will be published later this year, to set out a bold ambition to reduce the gap in health outcomes and the actions that the Government will be taking to address the wider determinants of health, including the impact of poor housing on health.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific plans or commitments on how levelling-up policy tackles urgent health issues related to poor housing conditions are not provided

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Q3 Selaine Saxby
NHS Housing Mental Health
Context

The MP notes that in North Devon, lack of availability of affordable housing is creating mental health issues among constituents and affecting recruitment at the local hospital.

Question

What steps is the Department taking to try to address these concerns? In North Devon it is not just the quality of housing that is causing health issues but the lack of availability of affordable housing and a complete collapse of the private rental sector, which is creating mental health issues among my constituents and also means that my much-loved North Devon District Hospital is struggling to recruit adequate local medical services.

Answer from Maggie Throup

My hon. Friend raises an important issue specific to her area, and other areas that attract people who go there for their holidays and are perhaps not there on a permanent basis. We are determined through our White Papers to address every health inequality, whether caused by a moving population or a static population, in the sorts of areas that the hon. Member for Wansbeck (Ian Lavery) talked about.

Not addressed: The specific concerns raised about North Devon's housing and healthcare services are not directly addressed

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