Earlier today I raised the need for the Government to provide proper services for children and young people living with obesity in a Parliamentary debate on their obesity strategy. 

I highlighted the brilliant work of SHINE Health Academy, a Manor-based charity focused on supporting children and young people, and how Government action is still needed to address commissioning rules for weight management services 18 months after I took the charity to meet the Minister to highlight the issue. Currently, neither NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups nor Local Authorities have the responsibility for commissioning services, meaning charities are often left responsible for funding support. 

I introduced children and young people from SHINE to meet members of the Health Select Committee in 2018. In their subsequent report on childhood obesity, the Committee said that “the Government must ensure there are robust systems in place not only to identify children who are overweight or obese, but to ensure that these children are offered effective help through a multidisciplinary, family-centric approach” and I highlighted this recommendation with Ministers again in today’s debate. 

You can read my contribution here, or watch it here.