To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of new research by Trussell which found that the impact of (a) hunger and (b) hardship drives an additional £6.3 billion in public service expenditure on healthcare each year.

The Government welcomes the Trussell report on the cost of hunger and hardship and recognises that poverty is a wider determinant of health. Under the Health Mission, the Government is committed to supporting people to stay healthier for longer, reducing health inequalities, easing the strain on the National Health Service and driving economic growth.

The Department is also working closely with the Child Poverty Taskforce to develop and deliver an ambitious strategy to reduce child poverty, tackle the root causes, and give every child the best start in life. The Government is supporting those in need through the Healthy Start scheme and through the roll out of breakfast clubs. The Government is also expanding Free School Meals which will benefit over half a million more children and lift 100,000 children out of poverty.