Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:22 pm on 22 October 2019.
I agree with the earlier two speakers: we are the most obese nation in Europe and our food system is absolutely broken. So, no change is not an option. It isn't just a sugar tax we need, we need a salt tax and a fat tax in order to control the actions of the food manufacturing companies who target people with this stuff that passes off as food. And in addition to that, there's been an exponential rise in type 2 diabetes, which already consumes 10 per cent of the NHS budget. So, we cannot wait for a decade to sort this out.
I agree with the Minister that you're absolutely right to point out that the cost of vegetables and fruit will go up as a result of Brexit. So, I'd like to know what the Government's doing now to get more people growing vegetables and fruit here in Wales. That isn't even mentioned in the document. We were at our most healthiest during the second world war when we were digging for victory. We now need to dig to save our nation, really, and save our NHS. And that needs doing now. Even if we manage to avoid the catastrophe of no deal with Brexit, there's lots of evidence that if you get kids to grow food, they will then be tempted to eat it as well.
We are what we eat, and the most terrifying statistic that I've learnt recently is that two thirds of people never eat a meal prepared with fresh ingredients—never. Because even when they go out, they'll go and eat junk food. So, that is the scale of the challenge that we face.
So, I am struggling to understand the difference between milestones and outcomes and targets. I want to see some really clear targets so that we know that we are making progress on this. It's something we've talked about ever since I've been here, and we just need action now. I want to know—the baby born next week: how are they going to be protected from the marketing of unhealthy products masquerading as food? We know that less than three quarters of children starting school have a healthy weight. What is that figure going to be in 2022? We absolutely have to have a whole-system approach; this is not just the Minister for health's department. I want to see what we're going to do with public procurement. What are we doing? We have all the levers here to do something. We've got the 'Appetite for Life' guidelines, regulations, but they're not being adhered to in all our schools, because nobody is monitoring them.
So, we know that up to a third of our children rely on the free breakfasts and the lunches that they get in school, otherwise they are not getting any other thing that I would classify as food. And we know from the statistics and the research done by other organisations that half the children going hungry to bed are not even eligible for free school meals because of the poverty wages their parents are suffering. So, we've got lots of aspiration but not enough action. And one of the things I want to see is the traffic light system, to ensure that people are clear about whether this is something healthy or whether it's something just pretending to be healthy.
We need action to ensure that all processed food, including baby foods, are not laced with sugar, fat and salt in order to make them more profitable. How does the Minister plan to normalise good eating in primary schools? That's what I find is absent from your document. Will you consider banning the sale of drinks in secondary schools, which, at the moment, encourages pupils to use money that's supposed to be spent on food instead on drinks of limited nutritional value?
There are lots of opportunities to make Wales into a good food nation, and it's something that we need to work at collectively, not just in the health service. But I'm unclear exactly what differences we expect to see in two years' time so that we can measure whether or not the Government's programme has been successful.