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Public Health (England)

That is a point for debate. As I recall, there was no public health Minister in the Conservative Government at that time. As time is short, I do not wish to make too many points, as some of them have been touched on by colleagues. However, there are one or two things that I would like to raise. I chair the all-party pharmacy group, and I believe that pharmacists have an enormous role to play in promoting public health. They could do much more, and more public health measures could become an essential part of the pharmacy contract, so that they become universally available at all pharmacies and thus make an enormous contribution to public health. Will the Minister look at the GP contract and the way in which QOF—quality and outcomes framework—points work? We could achieve far more improvements in primary care if public health became an essential part of QOF. In particular, if a significant number of points were attached to the management of obesity, I am sure GPs would devote more time and effort to tackling that serious issue. The problem of advertising for kids has already been mentioned, and I am glad that that is now to be dealt with. I am very concerned about the traffic light food labelling scheme, which certain retailers, for reasons of their own, refuse to accept. I fear that that will cause enormous confusion among consumers. The scheme will only work if all retailers adopt an accepted norm. The Food Standards Agency has done important work on the scheme, and I deeply regret that the largest retailer in the land refuses to accept it. I am pleased that the Minister has reported reductions in the salt content of processed foods, but we need to go a great deal further, because salt is a major issue. I will not detain the House further, as many other Members wish to speak. I shall merely say that if we dealt with some of the issues that I have raised, we could make significant further improvements in public health that would benefit us all.