Labour’s Wellbeing Act includes fruit pledge

The Labour Party has promised to provide more fresh fruit and vegetables to poorer children as part of plans for a Future Generations Wellbeing Act for England.

As part of a commitment to tackle widening health inequalities, the measures will place duties on health services, public bodies in England and government to take account of population health and well-being, now and in the future, when making their decisions.

New figures released by the party reveal that the number of women and children eligible to receive government ‘Healthy Start’ vouchers for healthy food and vitamins has fallen by 20 per cent in four years. Simultaneously, since 2012/13, funding for healthy start welfare food payments has been slashed by £36.6 million – just over a quarter.

Healthy Start vouchers are crucial in helping children from lower income families – who are at greater risk of obesity – get their five-a-day of fruit and vegetables. One in five children are obese or overweight by the time they start primary school, rising to one in three by the time they leave.

Speaking at the Fabian Society’s Summer Conference, Jonathan Ashworth, Labour’s Shadow Health and Social Care Secretary, committed £26.8 million to the ‘Healthy Start’ programme to help provide children in the most deprived areas of the country with fresh fruit and vegetables.

He said: “The next Labour government will adopt a comprehensive, cross-government national strategy to tackle health inequalities, attacking the wider determinants of ill health and putting prevention first. We will focus determinedly on improving the health and well-being of every child, ensuring children have access to nutritious food not just in schools but also by expanding Healthy Start. Labour will ensure the poorest children receive the milk, fruit and vegetables they need.

“And to guarantee government decisions fully take account of long term health impacts, we will introduce a Future Generations Wellbeing Act drawing upon best practice including in New Zealand and closer to home in Wales. It will mean local health services, alongside relevant public bodies, will always act to reduce health inequalities and promote overall wellbeing too. It will mean our NHS, as a local ‘economic anchor’ institution in communities, takes account of the social value of every pound spent and takes its obligations to climate change seriously. Our health policy will be driven not just by a focus on cure but on radically improving prevention and social well-being too. Our commitment is to help people live longer, happier, healthier lives.”

Helen Stokes-Lampard, chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: "Embedding the importance of living a healthy lifestyle in children at the earliest possible stage in their lives can have huge long-term benefits for their overall health and wellbeing – and eating a healthy, balanced diet is a key factor.

"GPs will always encourage our patients to eat healthily, including lots of fruit and veg, but we know that for some patients healthy eating can seem expensive or perceived as being difficult to prepare – particularly when they are faced with the temptation of cheaper, more convenient and unhealthy snacks – and this can lead to widening health inequalities.

"This doesn't have to be the case - there are lots of great ways to buy and cook fresh food more easily and cheaply – but it is nevertheless encouraging to hear politicians recognising the barriers that might exist to healthy eating, and putting forward ideas to tackling them."