Summer Adjournment

Debate between Jason McCartney and Keith Vaz

Thursday 18th July 2013 Commons Chamber

[Keith Vaz]

The hon. Lady is absolutely right, and she has raised the issue in the House on a number of occasions. It is also the responsibility of parents, because they do the purchasing. We had a debate this week about a minimum unit price for alcohol. When parents walk down the aisles of one of the major supermarkets, as we all do from time to time, they will see huge plastic bottles of Coca-Cola and other fizzy drinks. Those of us with children always want to try to keep them happy, and they will demand to have those drinks, and we will try to placate them by buying them, but that is a slippery slope.

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

I would like to place on the record my thanks to the right hon. Gentleman for organising the Silver Star charity event here in Parliament, where I had my blood tested. Does he agree that early testing of blood sugar levels not only in this House but across the country can help prevent some of the future harm of having type 2 diabetes?

[Keith Vaz]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. I do not know his test results, of course, because they are confidential, but I am sure that he came out with flying colours. Others Members did not manage that. At least one Member discovered that he had diabetes that day, and he would not have known had he not been tested. I pay tribute to Silver Star, UK Diabetes and all the other organisations involved. It is a very simple test. In fact, I think that you were present at the last Silver Star event, Mr Deputy Speaker, and found to be in perfect health—thank goodness—but it was perhaps not the same for others.

My message to the House today, as we approach the summer recess, is that this is perhaps a time when parents and children tend to lose their inhibitions and enjoy the summer, especially on a day like today. I would love to thank the Government for bringing us sunshine over the past 14 days, and I am sure that the Deputy Leader of the House will claim credit for it when he comes to wind up the debate, along with the Wimbledon win and all the other things that are going on. I am very pleased to see the former Chair of the Health Committee, my right hon. Friend the Member for Rother Valley (Mr Barron), in his place because he worked very hard in that role to remind people of the necessity of prevention. Prevention is better than cure. Preventing diabetes by ensuring that the companies are held to what they say they will be responsible for and reducing sugar levels in our drinks is absolutely vital.

My appeal to right hon. and hon. Members across the House is to join the war against sugar. Let us all be part of this great crusade to make our great country healthy and strong again.