Labour’s new manifesto ambition to make Britain’s children the healthiest in the world
Labour are today (Monday) announcing that a Labour government will mount a major programme to improve health and wellbeing of every child in the country. Our ambition is to make the next generation the healthiest the world has ever seen.
Jonathan Ashworth, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, will set out the party’s plans to combat health inequalities and end the scandalous link between deprivation and child health.
Labour will:
· Introduce a new Index of Child Health to measure progress against international standards and report annually against four key indicators: obesity, dental health, under 5s, and mental health.
· Legally require all Government departments to have a child health strategy to set out how they will support the UK’s ambition to have the healthiest children in the world.
· Support school nurses and health visitors to make sure that all children have access to the healthcare they are entitled to.
· Set up a £250m annual child health fund to support the strategy, by clamping down on management consultancy costs in the NHS.
· Ensure extra funding for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services and support for counselling in every school.
· Ring-fence the public health budget over the course of the Parliament to allow councils to invest in leisure activities and health awareness campaigns
Today (Monday) Labour is outlining the first stage of its plan focusing specifically on obesity which is costing the NHS £6bn a year.
Labour pledge to ban adverts promoting unhealthy food from being broadcast during primetime television, such as the X Factor, Hollyoaks and Britain’s Got Talent. A ban on pre-watershed junk food advertising would reduce children’s viewing of junk food adverts by 82%.
Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, Jonathan Ashworth, will pledge that a Labour Government elected after the General Election would:
· Halve childhood obesity within ten years and make Britain “the healthiest country in the world to grow up in.”
· Introduce legislation banning junk food advertising from being broadcast before 9pm
· Publish a new childhood obesity strategy within the first 100 days outlining a roadmap to halving childhood obesity rates within ten years
Jonathan Ashworth, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, will say:
“The scandal of child ill-health is a long-standing, growing and urgent challenge. It should be matter of shame that a child’s health is so closely linked to poverty and that where and in what circumstances you grow up can dramatically affect your life chances.
“Evidence shows the link between deprivation and poor health in childhood, so with child poverty on the rise, the need for action becomes more acute.
“The UK has one of the worst childhood obesity rates in Western Europe. Tooth decay is the single most common reason why children aged five to nine require admission to hospital. Around 13% of boys and 10% of girls aged 11-15 have mental health problems.
“When it comes to our children we should be ambitious. It’s time we invested properly in the health of the next generation. That means the sort of bold action we are outlining today to tackle obesity and invest in mental health provision.
Labour will put children at the heart our health strategy and put measures in place to make Britain’s children the healthiest in the world.”
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