Baroness Masham of Ilton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Masham of Ilton on 2016-10-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to increase funding for preventative measures to support under 16 year olds to stay healthy and prevent avoidable chronic disease in later life.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Responsibility for commissioning public health services for children from 0-19 now lies with local authorities. This affords the opportunity to commission based on local need and recognises that local government is best placed to identify the needs of their populations and to influence many of the wider factors that affect health and wellbeing.

The Department launched Childhood Obesity: A Plan for Action in August this year. The plan focuses on actions that are likely to have the biggest impact on reducing childhood obesity and maintaining a healthy weight. Physical activity is a key strand of the plan and, from September 2017, we will double the Primary Physical Education and Sport Premium funding to £320 million. A copy of the plan is attached.