5. Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: A Healthier Wales Transformation Fund Progress Report

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:55 pm on 14 January 2020.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Jenny Rathbone Jenny Rathbone Labour 4:55, 14 January 2020

These fissures are rather starkly evident, so we better get on with this change, or we're going to bankrupt our health service. More and more research evidence underlines the importance of encouraging people to be and stay healthy through eating clean, fresh food and doing regular, vigorous exercise. And that's not just in our youth, but also throughout our lives. And we know that that is the best way and the cheapest way of keeping people out of hospital.

Camilla Cavendish, in her book Extra Time, talks about 10 lessons for an ageing world. We're talking about the importance of growing old disgracefully. However, given the obesity epidemic across all ages, that is easier said than done, and we already have huge differentials in life expectancy from one ward to another in my constituency alone. So, I'd be very interested to explore further how you plan to do this scaling up.

I see that the Cardiff and the Vale regional partnership board's project on Me, My Home, My Community does talk about community gardening projects, walking groups, Men's Sheds, and talking cafes, all of which we know work well for people, but could you tell us about the size of that project and how you're going to be measuring its effectiveness?