Issue - items at meetings - Adoption of the Food Poverty Action Plan

Report of the Director Public Health (copy attached)

37.1    The Committee considered a report of the Director of Public Health which presented a Food Poverty Action Plan for Brighton & Hove setting out how the city planned to prevent and alleviate food poverty. It was owned by strategic partners via Brighton & Hove Connected, including the City Council, CCG and the Brighton and Hove Food Partnership.

37.2    A joint presentation was given by the Health Promotion Specialist, Becky Woodiwiss and Vic Borrill  and Emily O’Brien of the Brighton & Hove Food Partnership detailing the underlying issues and the measures which were to be put into place to address them. It was recognised that good nutrition supported both mental and physical health and evidence demonstrated the impact of nutrition on educational attainment in children. Poor diet was linked to 30% lower life expectancy and disability. It had been estimated that malnutrition cost UK health services up to £7.4 billion a year.

37.3    The Food Poverty Action Plan (FPAP) aimed to:

·         focus the city’s limited resources most effectively;

·         reduce the impact of food poverty on the health and well being of local people; and

·         mitigate against the likely impact of future health and social care budgets.

37.4    The Committee were being asked to approve this three year FPAP as a strategic approach which would commit the council to delivery of relevant actions.

37.5    Councillor Hill, commended this excellent piece of work and the work which underpinned it and wholeheartedly supported the approach proposed.

37.6    Councillor Taylor concurred in that view, the FPAP represented a positive approach and way forward which represented a practical approach to this issue.

37.7    The Chair, Councillor Daniel also welcomed this report which sought to address and respond to the underlying issues surrounding food poverty and to realise practical and achievable solutions. The focus on the broader context and to ensure that every child in the city had at least one hot meal per day was important and could not be overstated.

37.8    RESOLVED - (1) That the Neighbourhoods Communities and Equalities Committee (NCEC) agree the Food Poverty Action Plan (Appendix 1) to the report as a strategic approach acknowledging that food poverty is unacceptable and that action should be taken to prevent and address this issue in Brighton & Hove;

            (2) That the NCEC agrees to facilitate those Council actions within the plan that can be delivered within identified resources; and

            (3) That a progress report comes back to the NCEC at the half way point and the end of the 3 years.