Serious questions for Hancock to answer: Ashworth responds to green paper slipped out by government

Jonathan Ashworth MP, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, responding to the publication of the government’s ill health prevention green paper, said:

“There are serious questions for Matt Hancock to answer on why he has
slipped this important green paper out at this time. It looks like he
is trying to bury bad news and that he buckled under pressure from Boris
Johnson and the corporate lobbyists running his campaign.

“With advances in life expectancy stalling, infant mortality rates
worsening and health inequalities widening, this green paper is hugely
disappointing.

“Proposals to extend the sugar tax to milkshakes have been shelved
again and an expected levy on tobacco firms to fund smoking cessation
services appear to have been kicked into the long grass.

“The Tories have imposed £800 million worth of cuts to public local
health services and there is no indication these cuts will be reversed.

“Sadly this green paper is a missed opportunity, raises disturbing
questions about the role of lobbyists in watering it down,  and isn’t
worth the paper it’s written on. Only Labour will prioritise health
inequalities and fully fund public health services.”

Ends

Notes to editors

The government uploaded its green paper Advancing our health: prevention in the 2020s today