REDDITCH MP Chris Bloore hosted a cross-party parliamentary reception calling for national leadership to deliver a National Allergy Strategy.
The event, supported by ALK UK and OVID Health, brought together clinicians, patient groups, industry experts and policymakers to address the UK’s growing allergy challenge.
The reception follows the passage of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.
From September 2026, Benedict’s Law will require all schools in England to implement whole-school allergy policies, provide staff training and hold emergency adrenaline auto-injectors.
The law is named in memory of five-year-old Benedict Blythe, who died after an allergic reaction at school in 2021.
While welcoming this progress, Mr Bloore warned that a unified national strategy is needed to tackle wider challenges. Experts at the event explained how climate change, with longer pollen seasons and rising temperatures, is exacerbating allergic diseases and increasing pressure on NHS services.
Attendees were invited to sign an open letter to the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, calling for central funding and dedicated leadership to implement the National Allergy Strategy.
General Manager of ALK UK, outlined the clinical and pharmaceutical roadmap needed to scale up diagnosis and treatment across the country.
Mr Bloore said: “Allergic conditions affect millions of people across the UK, including many families in Redditch and the Villages. Yet allergy has sat on the margins of health policy, despite its impact on daily life, education and work.
“The passage of Benedict’s Law is a step forward but without sustained national leadership, the National Allergy Strategy risks becoming another document that gathers dust while patients face a postcode lottery in care. This event was about building the consensus to ensure real change.
“The evidence is clear. Allergic conditions are becoming more common and more severe. Climate change is making this worse. A properly resourced, nationally led strategy is not an extravagance, it is a necessity.”
