3. Statement by the Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing: Healthy Weight, Healthy Wales 2022-2024

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:18 pm on 1 March 2022.

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Photo of Rhun ap Iorwerth Rhun ap Iorwerth Plaid Cymru 3:18, 1 March 2022

I know that this is an issue that the Minister has a keen interest in. We both served on the health committee in the fifth Senedd as we were going through the passage of the Public Health (Wales) Bill. I tabled the amendment that led to the Government agreeing to introduce an obesity strategy, and I know the Minister and I were in agreement that this really has to be a priority for us. The health of the nation in physical terms, I think, is directly linked to our health as a nation in every possible tangible way. So, I think there's much to be welcomed in the statement today.

I do question the numbers, the sums of money that are being allocated. It's welcome to see £13 million being allocated towards this. I can't help feeling that there's a nought missing still when we're talking about the scale of the problem that we face. Some Welsh Government figures I've seen suggest that obesity maybe costs some £86 million annually to the Welsh NHS. I'd question that, actually, when you consider the effect that obesity can have on type 2 diabetes, which takes up as much as 10 per cent of the entire budget of the Welsh NHS. So, we really, if we want to reap the results, have to be putting in the investment on that preventative side that we, across parties here in the Siambr, can agree has to be prioritised. We've got to invest in that preventative side if we are to reap the long-term rewards. And I'd welcome the Minister's comments on whether she agrees with me, really, that the discussion she wants to be having around that Cabinet table in Government is to be adding that further nought to that sum, which is something that we should be aiming for.

I welcome the work being done on a pilot scheme in my constituency on health inequalities, working with families and children in particular. It is never too late in one's life, of course, to think in a healthy way. I joined the Nifty Sixties club at the Gym of Champions, the Holyhead and Anglesey Weightlifting and Fitness Centre in Holyhead yesterday. I'm not yet in my nifty 60s, though I will soon be entering my sixth decade later this year. I could barely keep up with those young-of-mind-and-body men and women who were there, who were keeping fit of body and mind. Of course, keeping our weight down is a big part of that. You could see through them the benefit that they were getting from that wonderful facility that we have in Holyhead, but it's taken investment to get it up and running—we need to see that kind of investment in all parts of Wales.

A couple of other questions on advertising. The original 'Healthy Weight: Healthy Wales' document stated that, by 2030, there'd be a ban on advertising, sponsorship and promotion of foods high in saturated fat, sugar and salt in public spaces, including bus and railway stations, sporting events, family attractions and so on. There has been a study that concluded that similar measures on London Underground advertising boards since 2019 really did have an impact. It contributed, perhaps, to a 1,000-calorie decrease in unhealthy purchases in people's weekly shopping—people who had come across those adverts. Could you just update us on where we're at with those measures?

And given, finally, that the Minister has indicated that she will ask officials to consider measures around taxation, when can we expect further detail around that? I was on these benches when we were laughed at for suggesting that we could introduce a levy on sugary drinks. That's happening now, it's been accepted. We need to move on now to unhealthy foods as well. And has the Minister also considered calls from charities, such as the British Heart Foundation, to restrict promotions—buy one, get one free and the like—on unhealthy food and drink?