Andrew Lansley today outlined what he called a “radical shift” in the way we tackle public health challenges.
If the ‘Healthy Lives, Healthy People’ White Paper is what goes for radical these days we really are in trouble.
As well as professing to be some kind of maverick health tsar he tried to calm everyone’s natural excitement at the project by saying that he wanted to “nudge wherever possible and nanny only where necessary”.
It’s hardly the kind of paradigm shift that ‘nudged’ us on from believing the earth was flat or that the sun orbited our little planet. But there you go.
Most noticeable about the White Paper is what is not said, leaving the food and drink trade, retailers and the tobacco and alcohol industry in the dark over what it all means.
As expected, we had the suggestion that tobacco could be switched into plain packs – a bit of a curveball that Lansley first lobbed last week. But instead of the hoped-for clarity on the display ban we got a rather limp “watch this space”.
There was also precious little detail on the new Responsibility Deal. This partnership between government, business, the voluntary sector and individuals has been a cornerstone of Lansley’s vision since he set up the Public Health Commission in 2008.
The Deal is to be launched early next year and again details are scare on how it will work. Perhaps this is deliberate. Since taking office, Lansley has been plagued by negative press about his over-familiarity with the food and drink industry.
It was interesting that the government did announce further deals on reformulation to cut salt levels, clearly aware of how those opposed to the food and drink industry might choose to spin the story.
But unfortunately it all leaves rather a lot still to be explained. We’ll have to wait and see just how radical (or conservative) this particular Conservative really is.
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