2. What action is the Welsh Government taking to prevent disease through the promotion of healthy living? OQ60995

We deploy a range of strategies to support people in Wales to live healthy lives. Not smoking, being physically active where possible and being a healthy weight are all positive steps we can take to prevent avoidable diseases, such as type 2 diabetes.

I thank the Minister for that response. Lifestyle and health are closely related, and the choices made about diet, activity, sleep and smoking can affect health and well-being. A healthy lifestyle can reduce the risk of many diseases, improve quality of life and promote recovery. Improvement in lifestyle is necessary for many people, with obesity being a major cause of type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, some types of cancer, such as breast cancer and bowel cancer, and strokes. So, with its early preventative approach, social prescribing can help ease the burden on front-line specialist services. What progress is being made on increasing social prescribing, so that we get people fit and well, rather than visiting doctors, visiting accident and emergency departments, due to being seriously ill?

Thank you very much. Well, I do think we need to be really careful. We perhaps sometimes overmedicalise some of issues that come through our GP surgeries, and that's why I do think that there's a real opportunity when it comes to social prescribing. This, of course, is not something new; it's something that's been going on throughout Wales, but in pockets. And one of the issues that certainly the former well-being Minister was keen to address, and I know that the new mental health Minister is keen to look at as well, is the issue of making sure that, when people are referred in relation to social prescribing, there is a quality around that, so that GPs can—. These, very often, are vulnerable people; you need to have some assurances around it. So, I think there are real opportunities when it comes to social prescribing. That framework now has been consulted upon, so we are charging ahead in relation to the opportunities around social prescribing. But you're quite right, particularly in relation to how do you change people's lifestyles. It's very difficult, it's very personal. What is it that motivates people? And I do hope that people will take up the opportunities, not just through social prescribing, but also through looking at the support that we have that can be effectively tailored to the individual. So, Healthy Weight Healthy You, for example, people can go onto that website and get fairly tailored support that will help them, for example, in their efforts to lose weight.

With the issue of preventative health being raised, I would like to take the opportunity to raise the issue of bowel cancer prevention in Wales. Bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer and the second-biggest cancer killer in Wales. There has been good progress on testing for Lynch syndrome in Wales, which is a condition associated with genetic predisposition to bowel cancer, but approximately 30 per cent of bowel cancer cases in the UK are linked to a fibre-deficient diet, 11 per cent linked to obesity, and 7 per cent linked to tobacco. A combination of these behaviours will significantly increase your chances of developing the disease. So, could the Cabinet Secretary outline what action the Welsh Government is taking to raise awareness of the behavioural risk factors associated with bowel cancer? Thank you.

Thanks very much. Well, one of the things I'm very proud of is the fact that we've now reduced the age at which screening takes place in relation to bowel cancer, and that is already making a difference. And people are quite keen to get involved in that. Some of the problem though, if you look at the disparities and outcomes when it comes to people who have cancer—any kind of cancer—is the difference between the poorer areas and the richer areas, and we have to do more to get some of our poorer areas to engage in this. So, targeted action to make sure that people in those poorer areas are returning that screening is absolutely crucial. I think that that certainly has got to be a part of what we do, but you're quite right: we've got to get, before that, into the prevention space, and certainly I hope that, with the Healthy Weight Healthy You kind of support that we can put in place, people will recognise what they need to do to maintain a healthy lifestyle.