6. 6. Welsh Conservatives Debate: the Public Health Legacy of Euro 2016

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:47 pm on 15 June 2016.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Andrew RT Davies Andrew RT Davies Conservative 4:47, 15 June 2016

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Could I thank the Minister for responding to the debate and thank everyone who has participated in the debate this afternoon, and wish the Minister well in her new portfolio? We have had a series of debates this afternoon. Obviously, we have had the European debate as the backbench debate, and we’re going to have the Wales Bill debate after this. Actually, if you look at some of the pressures in this debate—public health, the diabetes time bomb and also the important role that sports play in driving economic development in parts of Wales—many of the features that sit in this debate are critical to many communities the length and breadth of Wales. Whilst there is a lot of motherhood and apple pie in this—in particular, wishing the Welsh team well, as we all do, standing shoulder to shoulder with them, and hoping for a good performance tomorrow on the field and ultimately moving through to the next round—it is vital that we make sure that we look at all the other issues that are contained in this debate.

As Dr Dai Lloyd touched on, public health messaging is of vital importance. Yesterday, with it being National Diabetes Week, the awareness around what we can do as individuals for our own personal health and public health is a vital component in actually reducing the pressures on the national health service. Figures were brought out by Mohammad Asghar about diabetes, that if we don’t take action by 2025, there will be 300,000 people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in Wales. That’s nine years away. At the moment, that figure stands at—and this is a pretty astonishing figure in itself—185,000. That’s type 2. There is type 1 on top of that as well, so that’s not all diabetes. Those figures will present a huge challenge to the health service to meet and to work with people to manage that condition.

Sport will play a vital role in actually getting people fitter and healthier. For my sins, I still play veterans’ rugby for the Assembly. Any one of the new Members who have come here this session, we would welcome you to come along to any of the matches that we will be playing. [Interruption.] I’ll keep my shirt on next time I am playing, thank you, Darren. [Laughter.] I think I traumatised the politics award in Cardiff in December. But, actually, from what Suzy Davies was saying about her husband Geraint and all the memorabilia he has from his playing days, as well as obviously offering vital coaching experience, it did remind me of some of the memorabilia I have from my sporting days. We went on holiday on the Whitsun week, and I was told to find my bathing shorts, and, actually, I found a pair of Speedos—I wouldn’t want to give you that thought—and I was told in no uncertain terms by my 14-year-old daughter that if I took those on holiday, I certainly wouldn’t be having her with me on holiday as well then. But, in midlife, we are all of a different disposition, shall we say, to when we were 18, 19, 20, but, actually, sport shouldn’t be held back because of our age, as Angela Burns touched on. It is vital that all sections of society feel that if they want to participate in sport, whether that’s—[Interruption.] I’ll take an intervention.