Welsh Government launches review of public health strategy with implications for licensing policy

The Welsh Government has launched a major review of public health policy that places smoking, vaping, alcohol-related harm and the creation of healthier local environments firmly on the agenda, issues that will be of particular interest to licensing authorities, enforcement teams and regulatory practitioners.

Speaking in the Senedd, Deputy Minister for Public and Preventative Health Nerys Evans outlined plans to develop a new national public health strategy for Wales, identifying tobacco use, obesity, preventable ill health and health inequalities among the key challenges facing the country.

For licensing professionals, the most significant aspects of the review are the Welsh Government’s continued commitment to tobacco control, action on vaping and a broader prevention-focused approach that could influence future policy affecting licensed premises, off-licences, tobacco and vape retailers, and local authority regulatory services.

The Deputy Minister described tobacco as one of the leading causes of preventable illness and premature death in Wales and reaffirmed the Welsh Government’s ambition to create a “smoke-free generation”. The statement also pointed to ongoing work around vaping and nicotine products as part of wider efforts to improve population health.

These priorities align with a strengthening regulatory landscape for tobacco and vape sales across the UK, including recent measures aimed at restricting youth access to nicotine products and reducing smoking prevalence.

While alcohol policy was not the primary focus of the statement, the review’s emphasis on prevention and reducing avoidable harm is likely to be closely watched by licensing authorities. Public health considerations increasingly feature in discussions around alcohol availability, cumulative impact, community wellbeing and the management of the night-time economy, despite health not being a standalone licensing objective in Wales or England.

The proposed strategy will also examine how government policies across planning, transport, housing, education and food environments can contribute to better health outcomes. Such a “health in all policies” approach has potential implications for local authority decision-making, including matters affecting licensed premises, late-night economies and wider place-based regulation.

The Welsh Government said the new strategy would seek to address health inequalities, with people living in the most deprived communities experiencing significantly poorer health outcomes and lower healthy life expectancy than those in the least deprived areas. Ministers indicated that tackling the root causes of poor health would be central to the new framework.

A national call for evidence is expected to open later this month, with the Welsh Government aiming to publish the completed public health strategy and delivery framework in 2027.