Lansley's public health 'responsibility deal' under question

The Government's move to empower the food and drinks industry with a key role in public health policy could face a commons review. The shadow public health Minister Dianne Abbott has demanded an inquiry by the health select committee to review the 'Responsibility Deal' that gives industry a key role in deciding Government action on alcohol misuse and obesity.

The Health Secretary Andrew Lansley set up the Public Health Commission in 2008 to 'outline a practical and achievable Responsibility Deal between business and Government' to improve public health. The group is chaired by the Chief Executive of Unilever and membership includes representatives of Diageo and the Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WTSA). The group also includes non-industry members, though the Guardian reported that Professor Simon Capewell had described health interests as always in a minority and under pressure to support the party line.

The Guardian has asked Who is the government's health deal with big business really good for? whilst the Daily Mail reported McDonald's, KFC and Pepsi to help write government policy on obesity and diet-related disease.

Lansley was quick to outline a non-regulatory public health approach of 'social responsibility, not state regulation' earlier this year. Abbott spoke out when calling for the review, saying the Government had 'sold out the interests of the nation to the interests of big business'. She warned it was naïve to think companies would put business interests behind them in favour of making people healthier. The Faculty of Public Health (FPH) recently released a report stating whilst greater individual responsibility was important, Government intervention was also necessary and had public backing.

The Responsibility Deal sets out a key objective 'to enable and encourage people to drink sensibly and responsibly'. It outlines plans to 'contribute to a social marketing emphasis on creating positive peer pressure towards responsible drinking' and to back the roll out of Community Alcohol Partnerships. It also sets out to 'work with the drinks industry to improve labelling so that people are more aware of units of alcohol, the guideline limits, the units as a percentage of the guideline limit.'

The new public health white paper is due next month. It will detail a new 'Public Health Service' that will see local authorities take charge of a ring-fenced budget for local provision including substance misuse.

A recent BBC Panorama episode 'tax the fat' explored whether tax should be increased on food high in sugar and fat. It asked whether Britain, which now has the highest obesity rate in Europe, should tax junk food and use the revenue to promote and subsidise healthier foods. Interviewed on the programme, Lansley said "tax is not a nudge, it's a shove".

Comments

[Patricia Sadio]

This is extremely worrying. It is alarming that the companies responsible for increasing obesity levels will have the remit to combat it. With their bottom line being their only motivator how on earth is this compatible with public health? I thought the NHS were focusing on evidence base, the evidence so far for these corporations shows they cannot be trusted with our health.

[Kate]

The pharmaceutical and tobacco control industries have a monopoly on tobacco and cessation already, to the point of causing millions of deaths.

Involving vested interests to control other sectors is simply more of the same.