Minister aims to reduce promotion of unhealthy food with 10-year health plan

Scotland’s Health Secretary will target the location and promotion of unhealthy foods as he unveiled the Scottish Government’s 10-year strategy for improving the nation’s health.

Neil Gray said he would seek to make the foods available on promotion healthier while restricting where unhealthy food is sold, both in supermarkets and online.

The Scottish Government will target foods high in fat, salt and sugar as it looks to curb the increase in childhood obesity.

Mr Gray unveiled the plans at Holyrood on Tuesday as two, 10-year, health strategies were published.

The Population Health Framework aims to tackle the root causes of poor health through a range of actions, including greater access to green spaces and physical activity.

The Government wants to reduce the difference in life expectancy between the richest and poorest Scots, while preventing chronic illnesses such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Both are linked to diet and are more common in disadvantaged communities.

The Health and Social Care Service Renewal Framework was also published and aims to ensure health and social care services are sustainable, efficient, high-quality and accessible with a goal that Scots should be able to expect faster and fairer access to care.

The Scottish Government said it would empower Scots to be more involved in, and in charge of, their own care and includes measures to improve access to treatment in the community while enhancing preventative services and maximise the opportunities of digital innovation.

The Health Secretary said too many lives are “cut short” due to preventable illness.

He added: “We know health is not determined solely by what happens within the walls of hospitals or care homes and we want to create an environment in which everyone can live a healthy life.

“Through action on early years, jobs, income and building powerful communities, the population health framework builds the conditions to help people thrive and prevent poor health.

“Addressing the problem of obesity and helping people eat well and maintain a healthy weight is a public health priority.”

He said the Scottish Government is undertaking wide-ranging action to support Scots to make healthier choices.

He said: “Through the service renewal framework we will take action to deliver care closer to home, support people to better manage their own treatment and build on innovation, digital and treatment advances.

“This will help shape an efficient health and social care system that is focused on prevention and early intervention, and delivers high quality care at the right time in the right place. The creation of a new national body, NHS Delivery, will help to support that journey.

“Refocusing the whole system towards preventing ill-health from occurring or escalating can help us ensure the sustainability of our National Health Service.

“I am determined to ensure the measures outlined are delivered effectively and as quickly as possible as we work to transform the health of the nation.”

Dame Jackie Baillie, Scottish Labour’s health spokesperson at Holyrood, said the Government’s strategy amounted to “tinkering around the edges”.

She said: “It is gesture politics that will not actually create an NHS where systems work together and money follows the patient.”

Fellow Labour MSP, Carol Mochan, said the Scottish Government’s plans to reduce consumption of foods high in fat, sugar and salt “falls short of its ambition”.

Tory MSP Brian Whittle accused Mr Gray of pointing out the “blindingly obvious” on the importance of prevention.