HC Deb 24 June 1997 vol 296 cc502-3W
36. Mr. Stott

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement about the role and work of the Minister with responsibility for public health. [3504]

Ms Jowell

I will be working to take forward our manifesto commitments to improve the overall health of the nation, setting targets which recognise the impact on health of poverty, poor housing, unemployment and a polluted environment.

I will be working closely with colleagues in other Government Departments on issues such as food safety and use of Lottery funds for health projects. Work has already been put in train to address some of the crucial issues on the public health agenda. For instance: a White Paper on tobacco and a draft Bill to ban tobacco advertising are both in preparation for the summer; work is in hand to enable midweek Lottery funds to be used to create a network of Healthy Living Centres. the Ministerial Group on Food Safety, of which both my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I are members, have started work on developing the new Food Standards Agency.

We plan to outline our new health strategy at a conference on 7 July.