Thank you to the constituents who have contacted me about lung health and the importance of ensuring there is a strong focus on respiratory in the forthcoming NHS 10-year plan which is due to be published in the next few months. I am particularly grateful to those constituents who took the time to share their personal experiences with me. I agree with you that we must continue to improve outcomes for people with respiratory conditions, including the 5.4 million people across the UK who are affected by asthma.
I am disappointed that, since taking office, Ministers have not proceeded with the Major Conditions Strategy – which was being developed under the last Government – and would have included a focus on respiratory conditions.
Air pollution is the biggest environmental risk to public health in the UK, and it presents a particular risk to people with lung conditions, such as asthma or COPD. According to Asthma UK/BLF, 88 per cent of people with a lung condition say their health and well-being is affected by air pollution. I believe the previous Government delivered on its commitment to improving our air quality to mitigate this risk and prevent the development of lung conditions in the population. However, while our air is now cleaner than at any point since the industrial revolution, there is more work to be done if we are to protect the health of our nation. Through the Environment Act 2021, the previous Government sought improve air quality with an annual mean concentration target for PM2.5 levels at 10 µg per m3 or below by 2040, as well as one to reduce population exposure to PM2.5 by 35 per cent by 2040 (compared to 2018).
These measures will help reduce mortality and hospital admissions in the future. Estimates from the UKHSA in 2023 found there could be a greater than 30 per cent reduction in attributable mortality beyond 2030 for current policies compared with 2018. However, I have been concerned by the poor design and implementation of proposals for clean air zones by local authorities across England. In attempting to reduce air pollution, local authorities must ensure that proposals are limited, informed by evidence and subject to wide consultation with residents and businesses. I will carefully consider any measures brought forward by the new Government to tackle air pollution
We must also take further steps to tackle lung disease, building on the work that the previous Government took to reduce premature mortality rates among patients with lung disease although I appreciate there is much more to be done.
Early diagnosis of lung disease and lung cancer is important as timely treatment can help slow down its progression. Over recent years, Targeted Lung Health Checks (now the NHS Lung Cancer Screening Programme) has been rolled out in England, targeting those most at risk of lung cancer. In these areas, anyone who has ever smoked and is aged between 55 and 75 years old is offered lung cancer screening. I know that NHS England has been reviewing data from the Lung Health Checks to understand how effectively they are working, and I will be holding the Government and NHS to account for scaling up the programme so that screening is available in more areas.
Since the launch of the programme, more than 1 million people have taken up their lung cancer screening invitations and screening has diagnosed more than 5,500 people with lung cancer. I understand that 75 per cent of these lung cancers were found at an early stage (1 or 2) compared with 30 per cent of lung cancers detected outside of screening. As the Government develops a 10-Year Plan for the NHS, it will be important to renew these initiatives to drive earlier diagnosis of respiratory diseases such as lung disease and COPD.
I was pleased to hear about the findings of research from King's College London which suggest that Benralizumab could be a more effective treatment for asthma and COPD attacks than current treatment options. As the BBC reported in November 2024, Benralizumab is not ready for widescale use, but a larger clinical trial is due to take place during 2025 and will last for two years. This will help build evidence about whether the drug is both clinically and cost effective.
With regards to Duxipent, I am aware that this treatment has been approved by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency as an add-on treatment for COPD. However, I am unsure when the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence will assess whether it can be recommended for use in the NHS. I will be monitoring any further developments with both treatments and hope that this could lead to a breakthrough in treatment for people living with asthma and COPD.
In the meantime, I await the publication of Labour’s 10 Year plan for the NHS with great interest to see what their ideas for reform are and what they will mean in practice. As yet, we know very little.
