Later on Today Andrew Lansley will launch the Conservatives new green paper on public health.

A Healthier Nation, will outline how the Tories will will tackle the crisis in the public health system by overhauling the failing system introduced by Labour.

In-line with David Cameron’s philosophy of decentralisation and empowering local communities, responsibility for tackling problems such as obesity, drug use and teenage pregnancy will be devolved to the community level on a new payment-by results basis, with extra rewards for improving the public health of the poorest.

In spending their dedicated public health budgets, communities will be obliged to partner with local bodies, like schools, businesses, councils and GPs.

Andrew Lansley will outline the following steps to improving public health and its delivery:

1. decentralisation. A Conservative government will create a new system where local communities work with local employers, charities, entrepreneurs, schools, doctors and others, to tackle their own local health problems. More of the public health budget will be devolved to local authorities and their health service partners, under the direction of local directors of public health, who will be paid by results for reducing problems like infant mortality, childhood obesity and sexually transmitted infections. Local authorities will be obliged to deliver a substantial proportion of their public health interventions through partnerships with local bodies, like schools, businesses, councils and GPs. A new ‘Health Premium’ will target these resources at areas with the poorest health and largest inequalities.

2. Change behaviour. The Department of Health will be renamed and refocused, becoming the Department of Public Health, with a stronger remit for preventing disease, rather than just its cure. There will be a far more rigorous evaluation of the impact of policies. All public health strategies’ will be published online along with results. An ‘open-source’ approach will be encouraged to find the best ideas for new public health strategies, awarding prizes for the most effective campaign.

3. Commercial responsibility. A conservative government will work with business to eliminate negative commercial practices and reward positive ones.Voluntary restrictions on marketing to children will be extended, industry-led initiatives to promote better health, such as reducing food portion sizes will also be supported. The alcohol ‘units’ system will be replaced with a system which is easier to understand. Businesses will be encouraged to publish dietary information in fast-food outlets, restaurants, cafes and bars, and improve the clarity of information on food packaging by supporting EU proposals for mandatory publication of ‘guideline daily amounts’ on food packaging.

4. Intergration. Improvements in public health will be fully integrated with wider changes throughout government to promote better health, such as providing more Sure Start health visitors, better maternity care and Sure Start provision, and encouraging school sports through a new school sport Olympics. To tackle the specific problem of binge-drinking, there will be a ban on cheap alcohol used as a loss leader in shops and supermarkets, and problem drinks like alcopops and super-strength beers will be taxed more heavily. A tougher licensing regime will also be introduced to tackle irresponsible bars.

Read the full Green Paper HERE

Today the Health Select Committee published a hard-hitting report which condemns the government for giving the “greatest emphasis to the least effective policies” for tackling excess drinking. The cross-party group of MPs also said the alcohol industry is “dependent” on people who drink too much and is too close to government.

Commenting on the report Shadow Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said:

“The need for action is clear. But I don’t believe minimum pricing proposals is the right way to get to the root of this problem. Penalising the many who drink responsibly in order to constrain a minority will not succeed in tackling this complex challenge.

“There is no research which examines specifically the regressive income effects of minimum pricing; and, depending on the level at which a price is set, there is a risk of it being challenged on the grounds of its impact on competition.

“Instead of distorting the whole drinks market, we want to see the alcohol duty system better targeted by increasing tax on drinks most associated with binge drinking – alcopops and super-strength beers and super-strength ciders.

“We also want to see a change to the licensing regime to introduce a ‘three strikes and you’re out’ policy for licensed premises found to be selling alcohol under-age. A third offence within three years would trigger automatic revocation of the licence and a fine.

“The overall level of alcohol use in this country is high, but it is not rising. What we must do is reduce it, but especially in relation to binge drinkers and chronically high alcohol consumption, both of which are more of a reflection of attitude and behaviour, leading to demand, than matters of availability or price. No legislation or initiative will work unless we have a better understanding of what drives people’s decisions”.