Andrew Lansley
Andrew Lansley is Secretary of State for Health.[1]
Contents
On diet legislation and trans fats
According to a July 2010 report in the Daily Mail, Lansley rejected the advice of official health watchdog NICE on the issue of dangerous trans fats in food and sided with the food industry – which argues a ban is unnecessary. It is estimated that trans fats are responsible for as many as 7,000 premature deaths a year.[2]
In a separate announcement, Lansley told the British Medical Association the Government was likely to opt out of legislating on health and diet.[3]
Lansley also took the opportunity to criticize chef Jamie Oliver's campaign to make school meals healthier. Lansley said it was wrong to lecture people on what they should eat and argued the efforts of Jamie Oliver to tackle child obesity and ill-health had failed.[4]
Oliver replied to Lansley by saying:
- To say school dinners hasn't worked is not just inaccurate, but is also an insult to the hard work of hundreds of thousands of dinner ladies, teachers, headteachers and parent helpers who strive to feed schoolkids a nutritious, hot meal for 190 days of the year.[5]
Oliver added that any problems were due to there being too little funding available to train school catering staff properly.
Funding for healthier ingredients has also been an issue. When Oliver began his school meals campaign in 2005, the amount typically spent on ingredients for a school meal was between 35p and 45p per day per child. This compared with an average of 60p per lunch spent on inmates by the prison service.[6]
Relationships with the private health sector
The 2010 Conservative Party conference offered private healthcare companies ample opportunity to lobby the Secretary of State for Health, Andrew Lansley, and his team of Ministers and special advisers.
For example, Lansley spoke at a number of fringe events, hosted by among others private hospital company, Circle, pharma giant Novartis, and the think tanks ResPublica and 2020health.
Lansley has strong links with the centre-right think tank 2020health. According to its website, Lansley said of 2020health: “I have been very impressed with some of the discussions and documents that have emerged from 2020health. They are looking at serious issues (for example vaccination, dentistry, screening) and providing valuable impact on future policy.”,[7]
Affiliations
- Westminster Diet and Health Forum - Patron
- Westminster Media Forum - Patron
External Resources
- Holly Watt and Rosa Prince, Andrew Lansley bankrolled by private healthcare provider, telegraph.co.uk, 14 January 2010.
Notes
- ↑ Her Majesty’s Government, Number10.gov.uk, accessed 12 May 2010.
- ↑ Sean Poulter, They kill 7,000 people a year, but trans fats won't be banned, Daily Mail, 1 July 2010
- ↑ Sean Poulter, They kill 7,000 people a year, but trans fats won't be banned, Daily Mail, 1 July 2010, acc 5 July 2010
- ↑ Sean Poulter, They kill 7,000 people a year, but trans fats won't be banned, Daily Mail, 1 July 2010, acc 5 July 2010
- ↑ Denis Campbell, Jamie Oliver hits back at health secretary over school meals 'insult', Guardian, 30 Jun 2010, acc 5 July 2010
- ↑ School Dinners - The future’s looking brighter, Optimum Nutrition Magazine, Summer 2005, acc 4 Jul 2010
- ↑ 2020health.org,2020health, About Us: Endorsements, accessed 5 October 2010.
