Wes Streeting denies ‘dystopian future’ over weight loss jabs for unemployed people

Wes Streeting has denied that his plans to give new weight-loss jabs to the unemployed to help them get back into work would result in a ‘dystopian future’ in which overweight people would be ‘involuntarily jabbed’.

Britain’s health secretary acknowledged that weight-loss drugs alone are not the answer to the country’s obesity crisis after suggesting this week that they could have a “monumental” impact in getting more people into work.

However, he told BBC One’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg show that the latest generation of drugs, such as semaglutide or tirzepatide, could be “game changing” when it comes to reversing obesity trends.

Streeting had said in a article for the Telegraaf that “widening waistbands” were a burden on the NHS, and that the drugs could be given to people to get them back to work and ease healthcare costs.

The government has announced a £279 million investment from Lilly – the world’s largest pharmaceutical company – with the deal expected to include real-world trials of the impact of weight loss jabs on unemployment.

“I don’t think the answer to obesity is simply weight loss, but there is a lot of evidence that these shots, combined with changes in diet and exercise, can help people reduce their weight to reduce cardiovascular disease, as well as diabetes. That is groundbreaking,” says Streeting.

“They are not the only solution, and I don’t want to create a culture of dependency. I’m not interested in some dystopian future where I wander around… involuntarily poking overweight unemployed people – that’s not the agenda.

“If we can reverse the trends we’re seeing in obesity, it will be better for the health of the country… and for the country’s finances, because we need to move from treating disease to actively preventing it . But that is no substitute for good diet, nutrition and exercise.”

In a round of interviews, Streeting said he had reached an agreement on NHS funding with Chancellor Rachel Reeves, but could not solve the problems of the past fourteen years in one budget.

He stressed the need for both reform and investment in the NHS, saying he was “aware” that the money spent on healthcare is money that cannot be spent in other areas. He seemed to suggest that hospitals would need to improve productivity to benefit from additional funding.

“The approach that the Chancellor and I are taking is certainly to link investment to reform,” he told the BBC. Asked whether hospital trusts would be punished if they did not “play ball”, he added: “We certainly need to manage performance.

“I think it’s a quid pro quo. It is my responsibility to give system leaders the tools to do their job, and that is my responsibility as secretary of state, but it is their responsibility to deliver results.”

Streeting also said he was increasing the number of NHS appointments but did not have the exact data needed to see whether the government was on track to deliver on its promises. He reiterated that the NHS cannot be fixed without also tackling the social care crisis.