The Office for National Statistics’ mortality data comes from the information collected at death registration on death certificates and would be the most accurate source for the information. For this reason, the Department has not made an assessment of the number of deaths from anorexia nervosa.

However, the Government shares concerns about the accurate recording of deaths, including when eating disorders may have been a contributing factor. The statutory medical examiner and coroner systems provide a clear framework to ensure deaths are appropriately investigated and recorded, so that lessons are identified and patient safety is strengthened.

Ultimately, the Ministry of Justice owns coroner policy, and it is for the coroner, exercising independent judicial discretion, to determine what is recorded on the medical cause of death.

Accurate recording does matter, and we will continue to work with partners, including colleagues at the Ministry of Justice, to ensure that learning is captured and reflected in improvements to care.

Legislation requiring large businesses in England, with 250 or more employees, to display calorie information on non-prepacked food and soft drinks came into force in 2022.

The Department continues to evaluate the impact of the Calorie Labelling (Out of Home Sector) Regulations and have commissioned studies through the National Institute for Health and Care Research, which includes an evaluation to understand the impact of the rules, including on people living with eating disorders.

We will publish a post-implementation review within five years of implementation which will consider the effectiveness and impact of the policy, including on people living with eating disorders.

The Department has made no such assessment. Under the Equality Act 2010, a disability is defined as a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on an individual’s ability to do normal day to day activities.

The Equality Act 2010’s guidance on matters to be taken into account in determining questions relating to the definition of disability, refers to a range of impairments from which a disability can arise, including eating disorders. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/equality-act-guidance/disability-equality-act-2010-guidance-on-matters-to-be-taken-into-account-in-determining-questions-relating-to-the-definition-of-disability-html

We recognise the devastating impact an eating disorder can have on someone’s life, and that the earlier treatment is provided, the greater the chance of recovery. NHS England is continuing to expand community-based eating disorder service capacity, including crisis care and intensive home treatment. By improving care in the community, the National Health Service can improve outcomes and recovery, reduce rates of relapse, prevent eating disorders continuing into adulthood and, if admission is required as a very last resort, reduce lengths of stay in urgent and emergency care.

DSIT published an impact assessment for the Online Safety Act which contains estimates on the number of firms in scope. DSIT has not made a specific estimate in these areas nor has set specific targets.

The Act will require in-scope services to prevent all users from accessing illegal suicide and self-harm content including illegal eating disorder content, as well as protecting children from legal content which encourages, promotes or provides instruction for suicide, self-injury or eating disorders online.

Ofcom, responsible for the Act’s implementation, will provide guidance or codes of practice relating to the safety duties.

DSIT is developing a framework to evaluate the Act’s implementation and core outcomes.

DSIT published an impact assessment for the Online Safety Act which contains estimates on the number of firms in scope. DSIT has not made a specific estimate in these areas nor has set specific targets.

The Act will require in-scope services to prevent all users from accessing illegal suicide and self-harm content including illegal eating disorder content, as well as protecting children from legal content which encourages, promotes or provides instruction for suicide, self-injury or eating disorders online.

Ofcom, responsible for the Act’s implementation, will provide guidance or codes of practice relating to the safety duties.

DSIT is developing a framework to evaluate the Act’s implementation and core outcomes.

The Department is committed to working closely with NHS England to ensure that people with anorexia and other eating disorders get the care and treatment they need, when they need it.

We will focus on improving the performance of the existing waiting time standards for children and young people’s eating disorder services. This will be supported by recruiting 8,500 additional mental health staff across children and adult mental health services.

I would be delighted to meet my right hon. Friend. The Bill will ensure that children do not see content that promotes self-harm or glorifies eating disorders. Of course, the Bill will now be strengthened by a provision ensuring that adults will no longer see content promoting self-harm. I will invite the Minister

of State, Ministry of Justice, the right hon. Member for Charnwood (Edward Argar), who has responsibility for victims, to join that meeting, to explain the clauses that we have added.

I was a teenage anorexic, and it is terrifying how many of our children are affected by anorexia today, so will the Secretary of State meet me to make sure that the Online Safety Bill protects children from content that glorifies all forms of self-harm, including anorexia, and that those measures are implemented swiftly?

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale (Tim Farron MP) on 1 June 2021 to Question 5175.

Diagnosis recording within the Mental Health Services Data Set (MHSDS) is not mandatory and not all providers submit this information. The recording of diagnoses within the MHSDS is entered using clinical coding which some providers may be unable to do for various reasons. Additionally, a diagnosis may not be confirmed immediately for some patients. There are also other data quality issues around non-completion. Month on month reporting by providers can also be irregular. We are working with NHS Digital, providers and partner organisations to address these issues.

The Department has not made any assessment of this research. However, its findings are a useful addition to the evidence base and should be considered by clinicians and other researchers alongside the rest of the evidence on the management of anorexia nervosa.

This information is not held centrally.

The Medical Research Council is currently funding a study of adolescent anorexia nervosa patients with autism spectrum disorder symptoms: ‘The Triple A study (Adolescents with Anorexia and Autism): A search for biomarkers’. The research aims to identify vulnerable patients, at an early stage, who may be unlikely to respond to current treatment for anorexia, with the longer-term aim of shaping individualised support and treatment strategies. The study is led by King's College London and is due to conclude next year.

The Government made £150 million of additional investment available in the 2014 Autumn Statement for children and young people’s eating disorder services (including services for anorexia), over the five years to 2019/20. From April 2017, we established a new eating disorder service waiting time for children and young people – with the ambition that by 2020/21 95% of children will receive treatment within one week for urgent cases and within four weeks for routine cases.

The latest data from NHS England showed that in Q1 2017-18 73.3% of patients started urgent treatment within one week and 78.7% of patients started routine treatment within four weeks.

NHS England has now commissioned 70 new or enhanced community services for eating disorders so everyone can get the help they need to manage these conditions. The National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health in partnership with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is developing a pathway for adults with eating disorders, together with detailed implementation guidance for providers, during 2017/18. The pathway will be fully informed by the available evidence and the views of experts.

NICE also published its updated Clinical Guideline: Eating Disorders – recognition and treatment, on managing and treating eating disorders for the over 8s - including adults, children and young people in May 2017.

The information requested is shown in the table.

Count of finished admission episodes (FAEs)¹ with a primary diagnosis² of anorexia³ , where the patient age was under 30 years, 2013-14 to 2015-16.

Notes:

¹A FAE is the first period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FAEs are counted against the year or month in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the period.

²Primary diagnosis

The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and 7 prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was admitted to hospital.

³ International Classification of Diseases ICD-10 Codes

The following ICD-10 codes classify anorexia:

F50.0 Anorexia nervosa

F50.1 Atypical anorexia nervosa

Source: HES, NHS Digital