Health Secretary Therese Coffey has been accused of being 'clueless' after she was unable to say whether she is scrapping a plan to get England smoke-free by 2030. Ms Coffey, the Deputy Prime Minister who is partial to a cigar, said on Tuesday she is “not aware” whether the target to get the adult smoking rate down to five per cent or under has been axed.
The Government promised to publish a tobacco control plan “later this year” but the Guardian said ministers are expected to break the commitment. Ms Coffey was unable to say whether this is the case or not, instead saying her priority is on her “ABCD” – ambulances, backlog, care, doctors and dentists – ambitions.
“I’m not aware any target has been scrapped. My focus right now is the ABCD,” she told Sky News. Her Labour shadow Wes Streeting said: “The Health Secretary is ‘unaware’ of a major plank of her own Government’s health policy because she spends little time in her own department and most of her time firefighting in Number 10. Clueless and hopeless.”
