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Eating Disorders: Prevention of Deaths
02 September 2025
Lead MP
Richard Quigley
Isle of Wight West
Lab
Responding Minister
Stephen Kinnock
Tags
NHS
Word Count: 9612
Other Contributors: 20
At a Glance
Richard Quigley raised concerns about eating disorders: prevention of deaths in Westminster Hall. A government minister responded.
Key Requests to Government:
Calls for a confidential inquiry into eating disorder deaths due to systemic failures in care and lack of specialist knowledge among healthcare professionals.
How the Debate Unfolded
MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said:
Lead Contributor
The debate highlights the high mortality rate of eating disorders, with 36 deaths recorded in 2019 by ONS data and a US study suggesting the true figure could be closer to 1,860 deaths. Under-reporting and misclassification issues make it hard to quantify the real impact on children and young people’s mental health.
Baggy Shanker
Lab/Co-op
Derby South
Emphasises that one in 50 people in the UK are living with an eating disorder, particularly among young adults. He highlights the importance of early support and training for GPs.
Tewkesbury
Raises the issue of early intervention services being unavailable for a constituent's daughter suffering from anorexia, highlighting the lack of reference to eating disorders in the Government’s 10-year health plan.
Derby North
Supports the need for better access to early intervention services and recognises the vital role played by charities in providing support.
Connor Rand
Lab
Altrincham and Sale West
Congratulates the MP for securing the debate, highlights the unacceptable wait time of three and a half years for treatment, calls for inclusion of eating disorder services in the 10-year NHS plan, and stresses the importance of day care and intensive out-patient services.
Winchester
He emphasized the importance of early intervention to prevent longer, more expensive treatment and highlighted concerns about NHS spending cuts on under-18s mental health care.
Luke Evans
Con
Mid Worcestershire
Asked when the updated guidance would be brought forward, expressing concern about timing for both adult and child services.
Jade Botterill
Lab
Ossett and Denby Dale
She congratulates the hon. Friend on securing an important debate and raises issues related to supporting families of those living with eating disorders, encouraging better care structuring for treating combined mental and physical effects.
Jim Shannon
DUP
Strangford
He highlighted rising demand for support in Northern Ireland, citing a youth wellbeing survey that showed 16.2% of young people exhibiting signs of eating disorders.
John Whitby
Lab
Derbyshire Dales
Calls for the Department to examine the influence of private equity on NHS in-patient mental health services to ensure patient-centered care is not compromised by profit motives.
Josh Dean
Lab
Hertford and Stortford
Focuses on ARFID, a less understood eating disorder affecting children. He raises concerns about referrals for young children under eight years old being unavailable in their area.
Josh Newbury
Lab
Cannock Chase
Discusses the dangerous condition of T1DE, which affects around 100,000 people in the UK. He calls for assurances regarding the closure of pilot sites and the need for continued funding.
Liam Conlon
Lab
Beckenham and Penge
Raises concerns that excluding eating disorders as a cause on death certificates extends the pain felt by families of those who lost loved ones to organ failure. Contrasts current challenges under the Labour Government with previous efforts such as banning size zero models from fashion weeks, highlights issues faced by students due to social media influences, and calls for addressing new challenges in eating disorders.
Liz Twist
Lab
Blaydon and Consett
She discussed the link between eating disorders and suicide prevention strategies, as well as the issue of online harms affecting those with these conditions.
Quigley
Lab
Newcastle upon Tyne East
Tributes to families fighting for their children's wellbeing and looks forward to launching the APPG report.
Julie Minns
Lab
Carlisle
Points out that lack of collaboration between trusts contributes to preventable deaths in patients with eating disorders, especially in remote areas like Carlisle and Cumbria.
Paul Kohler
LD
Wimbledon
Discusses personal experience of a daughter suffering from an eating disorder, points out the difficulty in recognising early signs and getting help, highlights counterproductive health education interventions, and stresses the importance of better educating parents and teachers.
Peter Prinsley
Lab
Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket
Stresses the importance of early intervention, which saves lives and is cost-effective compared to delayed intervention.
Honiton and Sidmouth
A constituent's daughter did not reach her 30th birthday because of inadequate services for eating disorder patients, highlighting the need for better care.
Tom Gordon
LD
Harrogate and Knaresborough
Suggests the need for better integration of services between diabetes and mental health departments, and highlights the lack of education for healthcare professionals regarding T1DE. Asked about the levels of accountability for eating disorder services with Healthwatch being scrapped.
Bath
Notes that eating disorders have worsened over six years despite efforts to improve services, points out the high mortality rate and insufficient training for healthcare providers, highlights issues with fragmented care pathways, and calls for more accurate recording of deaths caused by eating disorders. Called repeatedly for a dedicated strategy on eating disorders and expressed hope that this Government will make a difference.
Government Response
Stephen Kinnock
The Minister for Care
Government Response
Acknowledged the importance of treating eating disorders and highlighted improvements in funding for children’s eating disorder services, increasing by £10 million since 2023-24. Emphasised the Government's commitment to transforming mental health services through the 10-year health plan. Reassures hon. Members about commitments to learning from eating disorder deaths, improving care quality, focusing funding on frontline services, exploring accurate recording of deaths with relevant bodies.
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About Westminster Hall Debates
Westminster Hall debates are a chance for MPs to raise important issues affecting their constituents and get a response from a government minister. Unlike Prime Minister's Questions, these debates are more in-depth and collaborative. The MP who secured the debate speaks first, other MPs can contribute, and a minister responds with the government's position.