Select committee: Health and Social Care Committee
Conclusion 11
First Report - Prevention in health and social care: healthy places
Published 19 Jan 2024
Paragraph 47
Addressed to Department of Health and Social Care
Health and Social Care Committee Prevention in health and social care All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
Frontline health and social care staff do not only deal with immediate medical needs. People also present to the health service with issues that relate to unmet social needs, which can in turn, over time, develop into medical needs. Increased use of social prescribing can both relieve pressure on clinical pathways and protect good health through enhancing people’s connections with, and ability to participate in activities in their local communities—particularly for people who often lack resources to access these activities independently. There is potential for health services to make much greater use of this approach amongst groups that are currently underserved by social prescribing, such as young people. Many GPs, however, do not feel as confident working with social prescription pathways as they do with the clinical Prevention in health and social care: healthy places 27 pathways that their training focuses on. Building confidence amongst frontline providers in recommending social provision will be key to both protecting and improving individuals’ health, and promoting more cohesive, health-enhancing communities.
From: Health and Social Care Committee, First Report - Prevention in health and social care: healthy places (HC 484), paragraph 47, 19 January 2024
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 9 May 2024 (deadline 19 March 2024).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government says it accepts some of the Committee's recommendations on healthy places but declines others, and states that it has carefully considered all of them.
- On the Decent Homes Standard, it accepts the recommendation, saying the Renters (Reform) Bill will bring the private rented sector under a standard for the first time and that it "intend[s] to publish our consultation on an updated DHS soon".
- On Awaab's Law, it accepts the recommendation. It will publish a consultation response and bring forward secondary legislation for social housing "as soon as practicable", but says the private rented sector needs "a different approach".
- It declines to consult on design and space standards, stating: "we do not believe it is necessary to consult on our design or space standards at this time."
- It declines to make OHID a statutory consultee, saying new statutory consultees would need to be "clearly justified", and that it is "not currently looking to extend the list of statutory consultees".