As a member of the health committee, I would like to thank our Chair and other members of the committee for the collegiate way we’ve worked together on this Bill. Also, a thank you to health officials and outside agencies for providing us with their evidence.

UKIP will be supporting the general principles of the Public Health (Wales) Bill. There is much about this Bill that is to be commended. We welcome the steps taken to strengthen restrictions on the sale of tobacco and nicotine products to young people. We welcome the intention to prevent smoking in places where children are present. We welcome moves taken to improve the health and safety surrounding tattooing and piercing, as well as ensuring that people carrying out these procedures are licensed and registered. The age of 16 for intimate piercing, it is felt, needs further consideration. We also greatly welcome the introduction of health impact assessments.

However, in many areas, the Bill doesn’t go far enough. As many others have said, this so-called public health Bill doesn’t address the biggest public health challenge of our time: the obesity epidemic that is facing our nation. Many of those who gave evidence to us on the health committee expressed their disappointment that the Bill did nothing to address obesity, alcohol misuse, poor air quality or loneliness and isolation. I share their disappointment and hope we can address these shortcomings during the passage of the Bill though the health committee.

One of my biggest disappointments with the Bill as it stands relates to public toilet provision. The Welsh Government’s own explanatory memorandum for the Bill recognises the inconsistencies that exist in the provision of public toilets across Wales and the fact that there is no legal duty for local authorities to provide public toilets. While it’s the Minister’s intention to improve toilet provision for everybody, many of those who gave evidence to the health committee felt that the Bill was a huge let down and wouldn’t result in any major improvements. Unfortunately, for many in our society, the lack of accessible public toilets is a prison sentence. People with a range of medical conditions are essentially trapped in their own homes because of the lack public toilets across Wales. The fact that the Bill simply requires councils to prepare a public toilet strategy will do nothing to improve provision or allay the concerns of those affected by the lack of provision. These concerns were shared not only by the patient groups and the older people’s commissioner, but also by the NHS Confederation, the Association of Directors of Public Health and Public Health Wales, which told the health committee that financial pressures on councils will mean that a strategy will not improve provision.

The majority of stakeholders who gave evidence to us in the health committee felt that there should be a statutory duty placed upon local authorities to implement the public toilet strategies. The Minister has said that she feels that, given the financial pressures upon local authorities, it would not be possible to place this statutory duty upon them. I feel that we are letting the people of Wales down by not having enforceable toilet strategies and hope that we can strengthen the enforcement of these strategies by other means. Perhaps the Welsh Government should have the ultimate duty for ensuring that local strategies make adequate provision for public toilets. We need to explore all options and I look forward to working with the Welsh Government to strengthen the Bill as it progresses through the Assembly. Thank you very much.