Having previously declared a personal and prejudicial interest in this item, Councillor Paul Hayes vacated the Council Chamber and did not take part in the voting thereon (minute 14 refers).

Christine Jones moved and Councillor Bernie Mooney seconded the following Motion submitted in accordance with Standing Order 7 –

(1)  The Council notes that obesity is a major public health concern with the majority of adults in England being overweight or obese and more than a third of our 10 to 11 years old being overweight or obese.

(2)  It is estimated that obesity is responsible for more than 30,000 deaths each year. Being overweight or obese increases the risk of a wide range of diseases including Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and many cancers. It also negatively affects quality of life and mental wellbeing.

(3)  No one is ‘immune’ to obesity, but some people are more likely to become overweight or obese than others. Factors of income, social deprivation and ethnicity all have an important impact on the likelihood of person becoming obese. Data from the National Child Measurement Programme shows that obesity levels in the most deprived 10% of children is approximately double that of the least deprived 10%.

(4)  Obesity places a huge strain on health and social care as well has having a broader impact on economic development. The estimated annual cost of obesity in England is around £32.5billion and if no action is taken these costs will increase.

(5)  Council recognises that the causes of obesity are complex. Environmental, physiological and behavioural factors all interrelate and play their part in influencing the prevalence of obesity. This is why at a local level Wirral has a wide range of activities to tackle obesity. This includes providing a 0 to 19 service working with schools and 0-5s to be health promoting, a number of services providing weight management support and having health promoting planning policies.

(6)  However, Council feels more needs to be done by national government to support the efforts of local areas and we call upon the Government to lead on three areas of action:

(7)  Firstly Implement the Food Revolution actions.

(8)  This is a campaign led by the Jamie Oliver Food Foundation and its Australian partners at the Good Foundation. It is committed to inspiring real, meaningful, positive change in the way children access, consume and understand food. 

(9)  Working with medical experts and professionals Food Revolution has created a six-point plan for action which they believe governments across the world should be working towards as a priority.

(10)  Council welcomes that the UK government has implemented the first action, which is the introduction of a sugary drink tax, but strongly advocate that the government also acts upon the other 5 actions. These are; 

(11)  1. The introduction of sugar reformulation targets to reduce excessive sugar in all products and have penalties for non-compliance;

(12)  2. Introduce fair marketing which would include a ban on food advertising targeted at children and cutting promotion of sugary products;

(13)  3. Making clearer labelling mandatory with clear on-pack sugar information, such as traffic light labelling and having restrictions on portion sizes for confectionary and sugary drinks;

(14)  4. Improving access to healthy food at schools for all children and prioritise food education in schools and,

(15)  5. Providing greater education including clear national guides on what nutritious daily meals look like. This would include practical resources for both parents and teachers and better consistency between the classroom and home.

(16)  Secondly Tackle Food Poverty

(17)  An affordable healthy diet is vital for good health. However, we know many people, due to rising food prices, low wages and reductions in benefits, have an insufficient income to buy healthy food. This ‘food poverty’ trap results in families cutting back on fresh fruit and vegetables and buying cheap, sweet, fatty, salty, or processed foods that need little cooking.

(18)  This results in poorer people having worse diets, greater levels of obesity and poorer health. Across the Liverpool City region many families are living in poverty and there is high demand on food banks.

(19)  Whilst there is considerable work across the Liverpool City Region (LCR) to tackle poverty, illustrated in the commitment set out in The LCR Child Poverty and Life Chances Strategy, more needs to be done nationally. We call upon the UK government as the world’s sixth largest economy to do more to end food poverty. Food banks should not become a substitute for an effective welfare system and fair work which includes earning a living wage.

(20)  Thirdly introduce a fairer and greater obesity focus of the use of sugar levy funding

(21)  Council welcomes the government’s sugary drinks levy with the money raised to improve PE and sport for primary-aged pupils to encourage healthy and active lifestyles.

(22)  The funding is to be allocated directly to primary schools, based on the number of pupils in years 1 to 6. There is no adjustment for deprivation. We believe to make the greatest impact the funding should be weighted to those with greatest health needs. The National Child Measurement Programme figures show it is the areas with greater deprivation which have a comparably higher proportion of children who are obese, compared to areas in the least deprived areas. If the funding was allocated direct to Local Authorities, rather than to individual schools, there would be greater potential to ensure resources were utilised to meet the needs across the local area.

(23)  Furthermore as obesity is influenced by both energy expended and energy consumed to tackle obesity we would like to see the criteria for this funding to also include activities which will help children and families make healthier food and drink choices.

(24)  In conclusion we strongly believe that more needs to be done on a national level to address the public health issue of obesity.

(25)  This Council therefore agrees that the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care & Health should write to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and ask him to give healthy weight a greater priority by:

(26)  Implementing all of the Food Revolution actions;

(27)  Tackling Food Poverty and,

(28)  Having a fairer and greater obesity focus of the use of sugar levy funding including allocation to Local Authorities rather than to individual schools

Councillor Chris Blakeley, in the absence of Councillor Adam Sykes, moved and Councillor Wendy Clements seconded the following amendment submitted in accordance with Standing Order 12(9) such that the Motion be approved subject to -

In paragraph 7, delete the word ‘Implement’ and insert the word  ‘Review’; and insert the words “with a focus on promoting healthy choices” to the end of the paragraph;

In paragraph 10, delete the words “acts upon” and insert the words “investigates the potential benefits, keeping in mind maintaining choice for citizens, of”;

In paragraph 17, delete the words “However, we know many people, due to rising food prices, low wages and reductions in benefits, have an insufficient income to buy healthy food. This ‘food poverty’ trap results in families cutting back on fresh fruit and vegetables and buying cheap, sweet, fatty, salty, or processed foods that need little cooking.”;

in paragraph 18, delete the words “This results in” and insert the words “Evidence shows”;

Insert the following words after paragraph 20 - “The cost of a £1 cheeseburger could also buy a kilo of sweet potatoes, two kilos of carrots or 10 apples, a 2017 study showed.  Whilst, acknowledging the energy costs of cooking meals, healthier choices are still cheaper than their more unhealthy counterparts.  Data from 78 common food products across Tesco and Asda found that healthier options are generally cheaper than unhealthier alternatives.  In fact, it was found that subsidising healthy foods would be unlikely to change eating habits and would instead transfer money from the poor to the rich.  Therefore, more must be done to understand the reasons behind this phenomenon without jumping to conclusions that fit an ideological narrative.”;

In paragraph 22, delete the words “There is no adjustment for deprivation” and “The National Child Measurement Programme figures show it is the areas with higher greater deprivation which have a comparably higher proportion of children who are obese, compared to areas in the least deprived areas. If the funding was allocated direct to Local Authorities, rather than to individual schools, there would be greater potential to ensure resources were utilised to meet the needs across the local area.”;

In paragraph 26, delete the word “Implement” and insert “Review”; and add the words “with a focus on promoting healthy choices, while respecting freedom of choice”;

In paragraph 28, delete the words “including allocation to Local Authorities rather than to individual schools”; and

Insert a final paragraph to the motion “Council also notes that, as well as healthier food options, promoting more active lifestyles including walking, running, cycling and dog walking also have a part to play and therefore Council believes that those on the lowest incomes should not be discouraged from using Wirral’s leisure and recreation facilities including through the imposition of parking charges at our country parks”.

Having applied the guillotine the Council did not debate this matter.

The amendment was put and lost (17:42) (One abstention).

The motion was put and carried (59:0) (One abstention).

Resolved (59:0) (One abstention) – That the motion be approved.