Parliamentary mentions and policy work

As a strong advocate for the North, our reports and recommendations are frequently discussed by MPs inside and outside Parliament.

Government consultations and select committees

We have submitted evidence to a range of select committees and government consultations, aimed at raising issues and bringing the North to the forefront of policy.

These include:

The Economic Affairs Select Committee, where we communicated findings from our Ageing in the North report (April 2025)
The Department for Health and Social Care’s Men’s Health Strategy for England, which is exploring how to improve health and wellbeing for men and boys (July 2025)
The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Osteoporosis (August 2025)

The Health and Social Care Select Committee’s inquiry into obesity (August 2025)
The Child Poverty Taskforce, which looks at child poverty trends and the success of previous policies (September 2025)
Autumn Budget submissions for both Health Equity North and the NHSA (October 2025)
The Education Select Committee’s inquiry into early years support for children and families (October 2025)
The Women’s Health Inquiry for the Department of Health and Social Care [October 2025]
The inquiry into the Department of Health and Social Care’s 10 Year Workforce Plan [November 2025]
The Public Accounts Committee’s inquiry into supporting people with frailty outside of hospitals (January 2026)
The Child Poverty Strategy overseen by the Education Committee and the Work and Pensions Committee (March 2026)

Parliamentary Mentions

Andy McDonald MP for Middlesbrough and Thornaby East

June 2025

Andy McDonald MP cited estimates from Health Equity North showing that changes to PIP would result in around £22 million a year being taken out of the local economy. He noted that 11,000 people in his Middlesbrough and Thornaby East constituency receive PIP and 23,000 receive Universal Credit. He asked for further answers on the impact of the changes on people being helped into work or pushed into poverty.

Mary Kelly Foy MP for City of Durham

July 2025

Mary Kelly Foy MP referenced the Ageing in the North report as part of the debate on proposed PIP changes. She shared the report’s findings that a key reason people in the North tend to leave the workforce is due to ill health. She said changes to PIP would have a “huge” impact on individuals, communities and the economy in the North East.

Ana Dixon MP for Shipley

November 2025

Anna Dixon shared figures from the NHSA stating that the societal cost of non-decent housing conditions was £7.77 billion, with a cost to the NHS of an estimated £588 million a year.

Debbie Abrahams MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth

December 2025 - March 2026

Our Health for Wealth report was referenced by Work and Pensions Committee Chair Debbie Abrahams MP. She shared the report’s conclusions that reducing inequalities between the North and South and improving health in the North could prompt a productivity increase worth around £18 billion a year.

Debbie also referred to the report two months later. TheMP noted that HEN research carried out for the Work and Pensions Committee showed that – if just 5% of people in receipt of Universal Credit were able to return to work – it would provide a return on investment of £20 billion over the life of the Parliament. That would equate to between £5.21 and £6.63 for every £1 of employment support invested.

In March 2026, Debbie cited Health Equity North’s various research reports to the ‘Delivering the Child Poverty Strategy’ DWP Select Committee, around how our evidence shows the need for a meaningful embedded strategy that makes a tangible difference to the country’s most vulnerable families.

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