Public health
Preventing ill health: smoking, vaping and obesity, alcohol and drugs, vaccination and infectious disease, and the gap in health between richer and poorer areas.
In the Programme for Government this sits under the well-being objective Building a health and care service fit for the future, and cutting waiting lists.
Showing the theme Health inequalities. The Programme commitments are the brief's as a whole.
- Statements and debates
- 0
- Contributions
- 125
- Written questions
- 0
125 contributions in the Sixth Senedd touched on this. The busiest month was Feb 2024, with 19.
- Labour55%
- Conservative21%
- Plaid20%
- Lib Dem3%
- Independent1%
On this page
The debate so far
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.
- 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.
