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Prevention in health and social care

Inquiry

The Health and Social Care Committee has announced ten themes to be examined in its major new inquiry into preventing ill-health. The subjects, ranging from early years and childhood to alcohol and gambling, were chosen after MPs received more than 600 submissions from researchers and organisations involved in preventative healthcare.

The inquiry will examine social and environmental factors, for example what living in a healthy place should look like, from housing and indoor air pollution to the number of fast food shops. Access to sexual and reproductive health services, how to promote good mental health, sleep and addressing poor diet are among other areas to be considered.

Health and Social Care Committee Chair said:

“Whether it’s the air you breathe or the food you put on your plate, there’s an impact on your health. While we can take action as individuals to stay well, the environment we live in has an enormous impact so what should a healthy place look like?

“This inquiry will be looking at a wide range of factors and asking what steps can be taken to prevent people slipping into ill-health.

“With health and social care services under extreme pressure, this is a crucial moment to identify what can be done to improve health outcomes for people in the longer term. I would argue the future sustainability of the NHS rests on us getting that right.”

The full list of topics that the Committee will be considering in the inquiry: healthy places; vaccination; health inequalities; mental health and wellbeing; healthy eating and obesity; smoking, drugs, alcohol, and gambling; sexual health; early years and childhood; cancer prevention; other major conditions.

Learn more about the submissions received in the first phase of the inquiry.

This inquiry is no longer accepting evidence

The deadline for submissions was Wednesday 8 February 2023.

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Email: hsccom@parliament.uk
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Address: Health and Social Care Committee, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA