Thank you, and I thank Angela Burns for bringing forward the amendments in this group, and I do recognise the intention behind the amendments and share the view that improving and protecting the health and well-being of our young people should be at the forefront of public health policy in Wales, and, in response to Jenny Rathbone’s concerns as well, I would refer all Members to the letter that I sent recently to all Members of the National Assembly for Wales, which outlined our approach to nutritional standards, both in school settings and also hospital settings, and extending them to early years settings and care home settings in future as well.

I would, with regard to this amendment, however, emphasise that safeguarding the health of children and young people is already a central theme right across the Bill and across other policies and legislation. The Bill provides a series of important protections for children, for example by restricting smoking in settings such as school grounds and public playgrounds, and by protecting children from the potential harms caused by intimate piercing. In addition, the long-term focus of health impact assessments will be another important way of ensuring that the future health and well-being of children and young people is protected.

Whilst I understand the good intentions behind these amendments, I believe they are inappropriate for a number of reasons. The well-being of future generations Act requires a public body in Wales to collaborate with others to meet its objectives and also to report annually on the progress made in meeting its objectives. Among the objectives that the public bodies listed in Angela Burns’s amendment should be considering and reporting on are public health issues relevant to young people, such as obesity, nutrition and mental health. These amendments would, therefore, effectively duplicate requirements in other legislation. Elements of these amendments also seem to duplicate other work being taken forward under this Bill—for example through the national obesity strategy that will be developed as a result of the amendments agreed earlier this afternoon.

The national obesity strategy amendments require the Welsh Ministers to publish a strategy on preventing obesity and reducing obesity levels in Wales, and this would include—but wouldn’t be limited to—obesity levels in young people. In addition, the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Well-being and Sport has committed to developing a children’s health plan to describe the national priority areas that health services should be addressing to improve outcomes for children and young people in Wales. It’s envisaged that the plan will be published for consultation before the end of the year, and an annual progress report will also be published. This important work will provide another way of achieving the desired effect of these amendments, and of providing strategic direction in a broader sense than these amendments would achieve.

Finally, in terms of outcomes, there’s already a range of mechanisms in place in Wales that enable us to monitor trends in the health and well-being of young people and children. For example, the annual reports of the chief medical officer and various surveys provide us with valuable information in this regard. So, taking all of these things together, the amendments in this group risk duplicating some of the existing and planned work without adding extra value, and for these reasons I’m unable to support the amendments in this group and would ask Members to reject them.