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Bidding begins for healthy towns

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH News Release issued by The Government News Network on 9 June 2008

Every town in England has the opportunity to bid for up to £5 million to make their inhabitants more healthy and active, Health Minister, Dawn Primarolo announced today.

As part of a £30 million Healthy Communities Challenge Fund, towns will be invited to come up with innovative new ways to improve the health of their inhabitants.

Ideas could include:

* increasing the number of cycle lanes

* walking promotion schemes; and

* providing local healthy food initiatives.

With almost two thirds of adults and a third of children either overweight or obese, 'Healthy Towns' are the next step in delivering on the cross-government obesity strategy, Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives, launched in January this year.

Health Minister, Ben Bradshaw said:

"Every area in England can now bid to become a healthy town. I want to see some really innovative ideas which will help tackle our nation's weight problem.

"I hope that local authorities and PCTs will take ownership of the challenge of obesity in their areas and work towards making their communities healthier places for everyone.

"Tackling obesity is the most significant public and personal health challenge facing our society. The core of the problem is simple - we eat too much and we do too little exercise. The solution is more complex. From the nature of the food that we eat to the built environment through to the way our children lead their lives, it is harder to avoid obesity in the modern world."

Successful applicants will be designated 'Healthy Towns' to acknowledge their commitment and aspiration to promoting health in their communities. In the first stage of bidding towns will need to show evidence that they take this issue seriously by meeting a small number of criteria. These are:

* Achieving a healthy weight for all is a local priority

* Commitment to creating a 'healthy town' -as shown through processes already in place such as: cycle demonstration towns, play pathfinders, local healthy food initiatives

* Senior level commitment - across the PCT and LA and a proven record of partnership working

* Links between obesity and other policy priorities - such as reducing health inequalities and reducing CO2 emissions

There will be a two stage selection process for deciding which areas will become 'Healthy Towns. In the first, they will outline their top level plans to be submitted by the 11 July this year. Those who are successful in stage one will then go on to stage two and submit a more detailed proposal and delivery plan by September this year.

This £30m will be invested over 3 years, between 2008/9 and 2010/11 and will be given to a small number of interested local areas to build on existing work in their communities and test out their ideas on what further action needs to happen to make regular physical activity and healthy food choices easier for people.

In each case the local areas will be expected to match any resources they receive from Government.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

1. There will be a two-stage process for selecting which localities will receive additional resources from the Healthy Community Challenge Fund.

Stage 1: Expression of Interest

PCTs and local authorities are invited to submit a joint application indicating their interest in the Healthy Community Challenge Fund, and a short explanation of what they would do with these additional resources to prevent and help reduce rates of overweight and obesity in their population. As the Government is keen to work with areas with a real commitment to increasing the levels of physical activity and promoting healthier food choices in their communities, each expression of interest must be accompanied by a short statement which explains how the following criteria are met:

* Evidence that achieving a healthy weight for all is a shared local priority.

* Evidence of a commitment to creating a 'Healthy Town'.

* Senior level commitment in the PCT and across the local authority (political and officer), with a proven record of partnership working.

* Clear demonstration of the links between obesity and other policy priorities.

Stage 2: Full bids

Local areas that are successful at stage 1 will be invited to submit a full bid for funding, comprising a more detailed explanation of what they hope to achieve, the anticipated cost and a plan for delivery. The application will also need to include an explanation of how the interventions will be managed, reflecting the high-level commitment that is needed to deliver a coherent cross-sectoral plan.

At this stage, the application will also need to outline sources of matched funding, as well as how the long-term sustainability of the interventions will be secured.

Further details on the criteria that will be used to assess applications, as well as information about monitoring, evaluation and dissemination will be made available at stage 2.

2. For further information go to: http://www.dh.gov.uk/obesity