Leeds' director of public health backs national call for Government to invest in children's health

Victoria Eaton has signed an open letter, along with a coalition of 29 other directors of public health across England, backing a charity’s call for the Government to increase children’s access to good food and provide a nutritional safety net for those worst off.

Sustain, a national food and farming charity, said the Covid-19 emergency has exposed the levels of food insecurity and health inequalities in the UK, with children and families disproportionately affected.

The charity's open letter, which was also signed by FoodWise Leeds, the city's food partnership, urges the Government to use its Comprehensive Spending Review, due to be published by Chancellor Rishi Sunak in late Autumn, to boost investment and expand children’s food programmes to ensure all have access to healthy, nutritious food.

It cites Food Foundation research which found 2.3 million children are living in households reporting “moderate or severe” food insecurity over the past six months.

In Leeds, worrying figures show the city has some of the worst rates for child poverty in the UK, with one in five children thought to be living below the breadline.

In some areas of the city including Harehills, Burmantofts, Sheepscar and Hunslet, that figure is thought to be as high as 50 per cent.

Sustain's open letter calls on the Government to extend free school meals and holiday activity and food programmes to all children whose families receive Universal Credit and expand the School Food and Vegetable Scheme - which currently provides a piece of fruit or vegetable to children in reception to year two - to all primary age children.

It also urges the Government to raise the value of Healthy Start Vouchers in line with inflation to £4.25.

The fruit, vegetable and milk vouchers were first launched in 2006 for parents of children under the age of four on certain benefits - but the £3.10 per week value has not increased since 2009.

Sustain has called for reinvestment in the vouchers and better promotion, with figures showing £54.8m worth of vouchers are unclaimed in the UK - and £540,000 in Leeds alone.

Also by channeling money from the Soft Drinks Industry Levy - also known as Sugar Tax - to healthy food investment funds, Sustain estimates every local authority could receive an extra £500k to improve children’s diets.

Victoria Eaton, Leeds City Council’s director of public health, said: “In what continue to be extremely difficult and testing times due to the impact of coronavirus, it is now vital more than ever that our children have access to healthy and nutritious food.

“The measures set out in this letter if introduced would I believe be very important steps in ensuring that real progress can be made to achieve this goal, and in doing so be invaluable in aiding our wider work with partners to tackle and reduce child poverty in Leeds.”

Sonja Woodcock, Foodwise Leeds co-ordinator, said: “Since the start of lockdown, it has been harder for children in our most deprived communities to access healthy and affordable food.

“There has been a dramatic rise in the number of children eligible for Free School Meals but also uptake of the Healthy Start scheme has dropped considerably.

“In Leeds we fully support the proposed changes to improve children’s nutrition that would help ensure all children have access to the healthy and nutritious food they need.”

Sat Mann, chair of FoodWise, said; “Now more than ever it is vital that we prioritise the health of children to ensure they have the best chance of developing their physical and mental health.

“Sadly for many children school meals are their only opportunity for a guaranteed meal. By making this as healthy as possible it ensures we can satisfy two important needs - hunger and health.”

Vera Zakharov, co-ordinator of the open letter at Sustain, said: “Local leaders have spoken, and children’s food access needs to be a front and centre priority for policymakers.

“Government has a unique opportunity this year to show leadership on safeguarding the health and wellbeing of the next generation by championing fiscal policies that provide a nutritional safety net to some of the most vulnerable children and families.

“We are urging Ministers to spend public money wisely by investing in children’s health.”

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Laura Collins