Title

Nine councils are to get £30m to encourage people to exercise and eat healthily. The health secretary Alan Johnson announced the funding at today's launch of the Department for Health's new Change4Life initiative. Dudley MBC, Calderdale MBC, Sheffield City Council, Tower Hamlets LBC, Thetford Town Council, Middlesbrough Council, Manchester City Council, Tewkesbury BC and Portsmouth City Council are part of a new coalition of ‘healthy towns' that will work at getting people to be more active and eat healthier foods. The department said the councils will ‘help residents to live healthily through a holistic approach to promoting physical activity both in the community and the infrastructure of the town.' The towns, which have been through a rigorous selection progress, will match the Government funding and have set out pledges around how they will encourage healthy living. The plans include a loyalty scheme in Manchester, which will reward people with free activities or healthy food when they take exercise, a cycling project in Thetford and an award scheme for healthy food in fast food outlets targeting those on the route that leads to the Olympic Park in Tower Hamlets. Mr Johnson said: ‘Our aim is to create a healthy England.' A spokesman from the LGA said: 'It is right that local solutions are sought and councils are well placed to provide services to tackle obesity. It is going to take a big push as country as a whole to solve the problem.' Area Region Funding Calderdale Yorks and the Humber £2,000,000 Manchester North West £4,600,000 Thetford East £900,000 Portsmouth South East £3,099,625 Tower Hamlets London £4,680,000 Dudley West Midlands £4,500,000 Middlesborough North East £4,099,180 Tewkesbury South West £1,200,000 Sheffield Yorks and the Humber £4,858,872

Title

HEALTH

£30m to endorse healthy living

SUBSCRIBE TO CONTINUE READING