William Powell AM,

Chair of the Petitions Committee

National Assembly for Wales

Dear William Powell

Petition: Free Suncsreen for all School Children under the Age of 11 in Wales

I would like to present you with the following petition as Chair of the petition Committee of the National Assembly for Wales:

“We call upon the National Assembly to urge the Welsh Government to provide free sunscreen for all children under the age of 11 in Wales”

I understand that this petition is admissible for consideration by the Petitions Committee under Standing Orders.

Tenovus view this petition as a major public health issue.  Skin cancer has more than doubled in the last 10 years and children are especially at risk. The Welsh Cancer Intelligence and Surveillance Unit (WCISU) latest triennial report (27th September 2011) has shown that the incidence of melanoma in 2009 is double of those of a decade earlier and is accompanied by a significant increase in mortality.  One blistering sunburn in childhood more than doubles the chances of developing skin cancer later in life.  We have already collated over 9,000 signatories for our own petition on this issue and would be grateful if you could consider this at your earliest opportunity.

We would also like to approach this petition as an opportunity for the National Assembly to view the how the Welsh Government will address health inequalities in general in the future.  We view this particular public health campaign as part of the wider agenda to improve health literacy, particularly amongst younger people and in giving every child a healthy start. 

Increasing awareness of health risks in relation to cancer and the broader chronic disease spectrum has become central to the Programme for Government and we also recognise that the key actions within the Fairer Outcomes for All Strategic Action Plan are likely to become central to the way the earmarked Public Health Bill is drafted. 

We would like to work with the Petitions Committee and the National Assembly in considering this as part of the wider public health agenda and we’re willing to provide further evidence as to how pubic health campaigns can deliver meaningful outcomes in terms of life expectancy and ultimately bring economic and social benefits in the long term. 

Yours Sincerely,

Claudia McVie

Chief Executive