§ Mr. Frank FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the effect on residents of Birkenhead of the Health Development Agency. [166568]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonThe work of the Health Development Agency (HDA) is focussed on service delivery that supports the whole of the region's public health development.
The HDA manages the national healthy school standard, which is part of the Government's national strategy to reduce health inequalities for children. The regional management of the programme is delivered in partnership with Sefton local education authority.
The North West HDA organised the largest ever regional public health conference in March 2004 to address the problem of obesity. Over 300 regional public health professionals, including representatives from health services responsible for Birkenhead, learned of the latest obesity data for the region and collaboratively planned a regional obesity action plan. The workshop drew together best practice from across the region and in addition to the HDA guidance on obesity, this will provide the basis for local and regional work to tackle obesity in the coming years.
The North West HDA is currently working with the North West public health observatory and the regional cancer registries to review the main causes of cancer related deaths across the region.
The HDA, in partnership with Liverpool John Moores University and the North West public health observatory, is currently completing a regional report, "Alcohol: A Situational Analysis for the North West".