Preventing ill health: smoking, vaping and obesity, alcohol and drugs, vaccination and infectious disease, and the gap in health between richer and poorer areas.
Since May 2026 the Senedd has discussed preventing ill health mainly through Nerys Evans (Plaid Cymru), the new Deputy Minister for Public and Preventative Health, who has set out a cross-government approach. Opposition and Labour Members ask what outcomes, costs and funding will follow. Debates have also covered health inequalities, vaping, flu vaccination, school swimming and addiction services.
The main arguments
Nerys Evans (Plaid Cymru) says prevention needs a cross-government ministerial group, an agreed definition, a map of current spending and a possible preventative spending limit. She says such spending is not currently clearly understood or tracked. Contributions: [1][2][3]
James Evans (Reform UK) asks what the cross-government work looks like in practice and what it costs. Jayne Bryant (Welsh Labour) says success should be judged by changes in people's health, not by the creation of a budget line.
Plaid Cymru Members (Zaynub Akbar, Nerys Evans, Matthew Jones) cited gaps in healthy life expectancy in Cardiff and the former coalfields. Anthony Slaughter (Wales Green Party) tied such gaps to poverty, housing and air quality. Contributions: [1][2][3][4]
Nerys Evans (Plaid Cymru) described a consultation on vaping packaging, flavours and where products are sold. Natasha Asghar (Welsh Conservatives) cited nearly 4,000 preventable smoking deaths a year and asked what other action will follow. Contributions: [1][2]
Becca Martin (Plaid Cymru) raised low flu vaccine uptake among two and three-year-olds. Mabon ap Gwynfor (Plaid Cymru) said uptake had risen to 46.1 per cent. Sioned Rees, an official, raised inequalities in HPV vaccine uptake. Contributions: [1][2][3]
Peter Fox (Welsh Conservatives) called for a national food strategy. Nerys Evans (Plaid Cymru) linked obesity to food systems and children. James Evans (Reform UK) and Paul Davies (Welsh Conservatives) pressed on funding for school swimming and sport. Contributions: [1][2][3][4][5]
Jane Dodds (Welsh Liberal Democrats) said a new gambling harms service cannot meet demand. Peredur Owen Griffiths (Plaid Cymru) asked for a ketamine awareness campaign. Becca Martin (Plaid Cymru) raised barriers to addiction support. Contributions: [1][2][3]
Where the parties stand
Plaid Cymru
Its Members in Government say preventing ill health is a cross-government and social justice issue, with a new Minister, a planned public health strategy, vaping consultation and a school swimming programme. Contributions: [1][2][3][4]
Welsh Labour
Its Members welcome the cross-government approach but ask for outcomes, measures of success and funding. Jayne Bryant asks about sport investment. Huw Thomas notes Cardiff and Vale's £4 million public health budget. Contributions: [1][2][3]
Reform UK
Its Members ask for practical detail and costs, and say money should go to front-line services rather than bureaucracy. They support school swimming and a response on vape packaging, and link ill health to poverty. Contributions: [1][2][3][4][5]
Welsh Conservatives
Its Members press on obesity and smoking figures, GP training capacity, a national food strategy, resources for sport and culture, and children's physical activity. Contributions: [1][2][3][4]
Welsh Liberal Democrats
Jane Dodds raises gambling harms services and Public Health Wales commissioning delays. She also links child poverty and the first 1,000 days to health. Contributions: [1][2]
Wales Green Party
Anthony Slaughter says health inequalities are rising and are the Government's responsibility to address, pointing to poverty, food insecurity, housing and air pollution. Paul Rock cites public health in support of lower speed limits. Contributions: [1][2]
What the government is being pressed on
1What will the cross-government work deliver, and how will it be measured? Nerys Evans said a public health strategy will set outcomes and that transparent spending will drive outcome measures. Jayne Bryant and James Evans want clearer detail. Contributions: [1][2][3][4]
2How will preventative spending be protected under budget pressure? Sara Crowley and Huw Thomas asked. Nerys Evans said the first step is defining prevention and mapping current spend, and that a preventative spending limit is being explored. Contributions: [1][2][3][4]
3What more will be done on vaping and tobacco? Natasha Asghar asked. Nerys Evans pointed to the consultation on plain packaging, flavours, product design and under-the-counter sales, and said officials are outlining further powers. Contributions: [1][2]
4How will children's flu vaccine uptake improve? Becca Martin asked. Mabon ap Gwynfor said health boards are planning for inequality, including nursery delivery, and children should be vaccinated from September, with a drive to finish by the end of November. Contributions: [1][2]
5What will change for preventative care in rural west Wales? Paul Marr asked about access and front-line investment. Nerys Evans pointed to the supplementary budget and said the First Minister's ambition includes rural-proofing so costs of delivery are reflected. Contributions: [1][2]
What the public is asking for
Petitions ask for the minimum unit price of alcohol to be abolished (712 signatures), a Men's Health Plan (320), easier access to the shingles vaccine (176) and an end to the two-year limit on injectable weight loss medicines (14). A petition on sweet-style vape packaging has 321 signatures.
Who ministers are meeting
Ministers' published meetings on this subject were with a patient charity (the Hepatitis C Trust) and a national public health body (Public Health Wales), one meeting each.
In the Sixth Senedd (2021 to 2026)
From the previous Senedd's record, for issues that run across both. The rest of this analysis covers the Seventh Senedd only.
In the Sixth Senedd, debate centred on smoking and vaping, vaccination, obesity and drugs policy. Members pressed for the unimplemented tobacco retail register and for action on youth vaping, while Ministers pointed to falling smoking rates and UK legislation. Committee evidence stressed food environments and stigma in tackling obesity.
In May 2024 Mabon ap Gwynfor (Plaid Cymru) said the register in the 2017 Act was never implemented. Gareth Davies (Welsh Conservatives) said existing laws should be better enforced. Eluned Morgan (Welsh Labour) cited smoking falling from 23 to 13 per cent. Contributions: [1][2][3]
In May 2024 Eluned Morgan (Welsh Labour) raised concern about rising whooping cough cases. Mabon ap Gwynfor (Plaid Cymru) raised misinformation and measles. She said Public Health Wales has a key role in giving secure advice. Contributions: [1][2][3]
In October 2024 Public Health Wales's Dr Julie Bishop said stigma is a major barrier on obesity, and Professor Jim McManus said the food environment drives preventable disease. Contributions: [1][2]
In March 2024 Peredur Owen Griffiths (Plaid Cymru) said the war on drugs had failed. Lynne Neagle (Welsh Labour) said a safer consumption project would need police agreement under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. Contributions: [1][2]
Written by AI on 23 October 2026 from 126 contributions in the Senedd between 2 June 2026 and 19 October 2026, with the petitions and ministers' meetings on this brief. Each point links to the contributions it draws on; check them before quoting. How the analysis is written.
What the government has promised
The Programme for Government 2026 to 2030 belongs to the Seventh Senedd. Choose the Seventh Senedd to see how often each commitment has come up.
Prevention of ill health
Improve public health and wellbeing at population level by developing a new, comprehensive Public Health Strategy and Framework for Wales, based on a root and branch review of current and future public health needs.
Embed health prevention in all policy development across government ensuring strategic alignment of government action on the social determinants of health and wellbeing.
Harness expertise and plans to minimise the impact of communicable diseases with a focus on elimination targets by 2030 for tuberculosis and blood-borne viruses including HIV.
Deliver a national School Swimming and Water Safety programme, giving every pupil in Wales a foundation for an active, healthy life, building their confidence, and keeping children safe around water.
Source: Welsh Government, Programme for government 2026 to 2030: New ambition for Wales, first published on 10 September 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Mentions are found by matching the names of plans, bodies and schemes; a mention says nothing about progress.
From the Welsh Government
The Welsh Government's latest press releases and Cabinet statements on this brief.
Each bar is the share of that party's speeches and questions in the Sixth Senedd that touched this brief, so large and small parties can be compared. The upright line marks the chamber as a whole: 0.38%.
Ministers' meetings with outside organisations and their engagements on this brief, from the register the Welsh Government publishes every three months. 1 since the 2026 election:
24 September 2026
Hepatitis C Trust
Meeting, Deputy Minister for Public and Preventative Health
Contributions tagged in each month of the Sixth Senedd. No sittings were held in August 2023, December 2024, February 2025, March 2025, April 2025, May 2025, June 2025, July 2025, August 2025, September 2025, October 2025, November 2025 and December 2025.Show the numbers
Month
Contributions
January 2023
20
February 2023
6
March 2023
36
April 2023
2
May 2023
20
June 2023
29
July 2023
17
August 2023
No sittings
September 2023
24
October 2023
9
November 2023
22
December 2023
17
January 2024
63
February 2024
69
March 2024
16
April 2024
5
May 2024
27
June 2024
40
July 2024
4
August 2024
0
How this brief is put together
This brief follows the Programme commitments listed above and tags the record with the phrases below. Keyword matching can miss business that discusses the issue in other words, and can tag a passing mention.
Show the phrases it uses
A contribution is tagged when its English text contains one of these phrases. Capital letters don't matter, except in abbreviations, which must match exactly. It is also tagged when the title of the agenda item or question it was part of contains one, as long as the contribution is at least 30 words long. The brief is also tagged whenever one of its themes is.
