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Public Health (England)

I will attend to that issue later in my contribution, and I shall be happy to take an intervention from the hon. Gentleman at that point if he is not satisfied with what I say. People have the freedom to make choices, but the Government have a role to play in helping them make more informed choices about their health, and it is important to understand that some people, families and communities might need more support than others. For example, 50 per cent. of adults say that they are trying to eat well, and the Government can help in that by encouraging simple front-of-pack labelling to assist people in judging whether food is high in salt, sugar and fat. By engaging with Netmums, an online forum for mothers—250,000 mothers are registered on it—we are involved in discussions about front-of-pack labelling, and also about advertisements aimed at children for high-fat, high-salt, high-sugar products. That is an example of how we are looking beyond the traditional ways of engaging with communities and the public, and how we are exploring how we might better listen to the current concerns of mothers. By leading the debate, the Government can influence the actions of the private sector. Credit should go to the Sainsbury’s wheel of health initiative, the first simple food labelling device, which was informed by both Government and the Food Standards Agency advice, but which was devised by Sainsbury’s. Six million customers a week see its wheel of health labels. Independent research will determine exactly which labelling system is developed, and I acknowledge that other systems are being used by different retailers and food producers. What is clear—I think that this has been accepted by those from the food retailing and production sector who are involved in this debate—is that we will adopt whatever the consensus among consumers supports. I hope that that will happen. Anyone who doubts the willingness of the private sector to promote the public interest should look at another project that we have engaged it with: Project Neptune, the food manufacturers’ commitment to reduce salt levels in food by 30 per cent. over a three-year period. I again congratulate the food producers who have engaged constructively in reducing the levels of salt, and also in promoting awareness of the dangers of salt in our diet if that exceeds the 6 g a day that the FSA recommends. I know that there are good health reasons for the changes that are taking place within our food producing and retail sector. I also know that, realistically, for many companies in that sector it makes good business sense, too. I am pleased that in the last few years we have seen health become no longer a fad, but a trend. Those businesses that want to be associated with good health, and therefore to encourage consumers to choose their products, understand that business and health can come together, and the Government have a leading role to play in the debate on that.