First of all, I would want to echo all of the comments made by the Chair of the committee. I do truly believe that there is value to this legislation. We will certainly agree with taking it to the next stage, where hopefully it can be strengthened and amended. But I think it is very important that we, at this point, are highly aware of the limitations of this Bill, in case we raise people’s expectations excessively. There are very important elements within it, without doubt, but there is a great deal that has been omitted, and we will need more robust legislation if we are to ensure that the public can be healthier in Wales, despite how important the steps proposed in this Bill are in terms of piercing and tattooing and, very importantly, on extending the restrictions on smoking in public places, and so on.

As we’ve just heard, tackling obesity is the main public health challenge of our time. We all know the statistics on the financial impact that obesity has and will have on the NHS, and of the human impact that it has on people in our communities. But the question is: what can we and what should we do about it? We in Plaid Cymru certainly believe that there are a number of lessons we can learn from efforts to tackle smoking over the past decades, and that those are just as relevant in the fight against obesity. I did want a Bill here that would seek to address the greatest crisis facing us in terms of public health, and I would appeal to the Government to continue to seek solutions, through this Bill, to take specific steps. But, unfortunately, it’s been a frustrating process in committee to date. We have seen that the limitations on the powers available, perhaps, to the Welsh Government preclude some of the steps that we in Plaid Cymru would certainly want to see taken—the ban on advertising certain foods, taxing certain foods and drinks and so on.

Of course, it’s important to bear in mind that there is much that the Government can do in this area without legislating. We need far better communication with people and with health professionals, too, on the importance of a healthy diet and exercise and so on. The Government needs to think in a more integrated way. It’s not a good thing to limit leisure centre opening hours or to close leisure centres during an obesity crisis. We need to invest, somehow, in resources that allow and encourage healthy lifestyles, just as we invest in our health service. We don’t need legislation on all occasions, but I do think that we will need legislation in the future, and I look forward to the point when we are able to legislate further. This certainly won’t be the last public health Bill, but it’s not just obesity—we could look at issues such as prevention of pollution, for example, as other important areas.

I’d also like to draw attention to the importance of post-legislative scrutiny, and that it should happen to a greater extent than it has been done in the past, if this bill should be passed. We’ve seen time and time again, when a Bill is given Royal Assent, that our attention can actually be drawn away from the real aims, and that we fail to monitor progress made as a result of a Bill.

This brings me to my final point, which is on health impact assessments. We as a party were certainly eager to see these impact assessments contained within the original Bill. That pressure succeeded. This was laid, and we were grateful to the previous Government for putting that on the face of that Bill, although the Bill did ultimately fail. And that is relevant this time, too. We all support and understand the rationale as to why we want organisations to undertake health impact assessments, but I would warn the Minister at this point that it’s in the action that those benefits will truly be felt. Too often, I think, over the past few years, we have seen equality impact assessments or environmental impact assessments being undertaken, but then being ignored. By the way, I support thee adding of the word ‘well-being’—health and well-being impact assessments. That’s what’s important, but we can’t let those assessments become a box-ticking exercise.

So, generally speaking, my message in closing is that we shouldn’t look at passing this legislation as the end of the journey—the aim is to get a healthier population. There are important measures here, certainly, in terms of creating a safer population, but let us go through the process now—make amendments and find ways of strengthening what we have before us now, whilst bearing in mind what we should be aiming for in the future.