This week in Parliament there has been a great deal going on around health and well-being, starting with a debate on obesity on Monday. There is no doubt that we have a growing obesity crisis in the UK, and obesity related illnesses cost the NHS £6.5 billion every year. But there is no silver bullet to solving the crisis, and I am the first to acknowledge that maintaining a healthy weight is not easy.
That is perhaps especially true when the week kicked off with “Brew Monday” and a chance to have a cup of tea and a biscuit with the Samaritans. They do great work supporting those in crisis, and every single year Samaritans volunteers contribute 900,000 volunteer hours to help people at their lowest point. My scales probably thanked me for dodging the biscuits, and the cakes that were on sale at their stall at the station on Monday morning, but it was great to have the chance to just have a cuppa and a chat.
It was also inspiring to meet local students on Wednesday as part of Evidence Week in Parliament. They were from the LifeLab in Southampton, and part of the panel of young people who worked on lesson resources for both teachers and pupils regarding the dangers of vaping. Evidence Week is an initiative that brings together scientists and parliamentarians to discuss how we can best make informed policy decisions. It seemed very timely to have the LifeLab in Parliament given that the Tobacco and Vapes Bill is currently progressing through its Committee Stage.
This week I am also hosting my virtual roundtable on access to cash, which will then feed in to the Treasury Select Committee’s inquiry. Interestingly many of the responses I have received have focused on older people, but there have been many and varied views expressed to me ahead of the event so I am sure it will make for a lively discussion. I can well recall a colleague telling me about 10 years ago that I used “old fashioned money”, meaning cash, when in my mind that referred to pre-decimalisation currency!
I am very much looking forward to Romsey Rugby Club’s Burns Night celebrations this weekend. It has become something of an annual fixture, complete with poetry recitation and much whisky, so much for Dry January.