§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what action the Government have taken to promote healthier diets; [70130]
(2) what action the Government have taken to provide information in deprived areas on the recommended daily intake of fruit and vegetables. [70131]
§ Ms Jowell:Diet is a matter of personal choice. However, we recognise that it is important that people have the information they need to decide what they want to eat. Our aim, therefore, is to provide clear, consistent and understandable advice to help them make healthy eating choices. For these reasons we fund the Health Education Authority to produce information and advice to increase the knowledge and skills of key professional groups to promote the principles of healthy eating and also to improve consumers' understanding of a healthy diet. "The Balance of Good Health" has been instrumental 733W in improving awareness of a healthy and balanced diet as it illustrates in a simple way, by using a picture of a plate, the proportions of the balance of foods recommended by independent experts.
As part of the work which the Health Education Authority undertakes on promoting healthy eating, it has established, in partnership with the National Food Alliance, a food and low income database. This provides information about projects which have been established in response to difficulties which some communities have experienced in accessing fruit and vegetables. On my recent visit to Coventry, I saw one good example of such an initiative. Also using funding provided by the Department of Health, the National Food Alliance and the Health Education Authority together ran a series of regional seminars to bring together those working in the food and low income field to exchange best practice in planning, developing and carrying out community food initiatives and help others new to the field.
More generally, I am the lead Minister for the policy action team which is charged with developing a strategy for improving shopping access for people living in deprived neighbourhoods. This is one of eighteen policy action teams which have been established following the publication of the Social Exclusion Unit's report on neighbourhood renewal last September. The policy action team aims to develop integrated and sustainable approaches on improving shopping access for those living in deprived neighbourhoods.