§ Mr. MichaelTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he will publish targets for Wales which are directly comparable to each of the targets set by the Government in the document "The Health of the Nation".
§ Mr. Gwilym JonesThe aim in setting targets across a wide range of health gain areas is to take Wales into the 21st century with a level of health on course to compare with the best in Europe. This forms the cornerstone of all our efforts in Wales and to accomplish this we intend to reach and if possible surpass the range of health goals we have set outselves.
We have identified 10 health gain areas for specific attention against five in England. The targets already set reflect the specific circumstances of Wales with technical differences noticeably in starting points/levels, age groupings, classification categories and time series. Where direct comparisons with the English strategy are possible, for example in smoking and alcohol, our targets are more ambitious than those in "The Health of the Nation".
§ Mr. MichaelTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he intends to revise his targets for health gain in Wales; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Gwilym JonesIt is my intention that targets contained in the Welsh Health Planning Forum's protocols for investment in health gain and in the Health Promotion Authority for Wales's "Health for all in Wales" strategy will be reviewed approximately every three years in the light of advances in health care and developments elsewhere.