| 9.1 Many of
the responsibilities and functions of local authorities
offer direct opportunities for them to make a substantial
contribution to the dietary health of their populations.
Some are already working with Health Boards in the
"health alliance" partnerships recently
established by the Boards. But there is considerable
further scope for local authority involvement. Education
Departments, for example, can influence the development
of health promoting schools and the extent of health and
dietary education across the whole range of education
provision, including that in nursery schools. They can
also influence the nutritional quality and provision of
schools' catering services and the content of home
economics courses. Likewise, the community education
function embraces the extent and content of cookery
evening classes for adults and support for local
community groups examining food issues. |
| 9.2 Social
Work Departments control catering provision within
residential and day care establishments and provide
support for community action on food, particularly within
low income group communities. They also manage the home
help service which offers a particularly personal and
close relationship to clients, including assistance with
food preparation. This service currently covers, each
year, some 90,000 clients, of whom many are often at high
nutritional risk through disability and isolation. Its
potential for contributing to the desired improvement in
diet is very considerable. Likewise 'the meals-on-wheels'
service. There is a need, therefore, for local
authorities to ensure the adequacy of the dietary and
nutritional knowledge of home helps, care assistants and
others involved in food provision and that such knowledge
is applied appropriately. They should also reflect in
their catering provision the guidance in the Model
Nutritional Guidelines for Catering Specifications for
the Public Sector in Scotland. |
| 9.3 As
indicated in paragraph 5.16 local authorities also have
an opportunity to develop projects through the Urban
Programme which address, inter alia, health problems,
including those arising from diet. They have discretion,
in addition, to support local community and voluntary
sector activity on food issues. In this area overall,
liaison between authorities and the proposed national
project officer is strongly recommended. |
| 9.4 Less
directly, but still importantly, local authorities have
an involvement across a whole range of planning and
economic development matters which influence eating
behaviours. Of these, planning decisions as they affect
the location of retail food outlets and decisions on
public transport provision may have the greatest impact.
The issues for consideration in this area are discussed
in paragraphs 4.7.10 and 4.7.11. |
| 9.5 The
potential of local authorities to encourage and
facilitate healthy eating thus could be immense if it is
fully and imaginatively explored. It is, of course,
primarily a matter for local authorities to determine at
local level, within the statutory requirements placed
upon them, the specific action required to meet the needs
of their populations and to respond accordingly. However,
the Group recommends that The Scottish Office Department
of Health should discuss authorities' potential
involvement with the Convention of Scottish Local
Authorities. In this context the Group is encouraged to
learn of the recent initiative of the Convention to hold
a conference, jointly, with the Department for the
purpose of exploring with the new local government
unitary authorities the latter's role and
responsibilities in relation to public health matters
generally, including dietary improvement. |
| |
| Action
Points |
- The Scottish Office
Department of Health should discuss with the
Convention of Scottish Local Authorities the
potential for local authorities to maximise the
promotion of healthy eating in their areas and
the Convention's role in taking this forward. The
key role of the national project officer, whose
appointment is recommended in paragraph 5.14 of
the Action Plan, in co-ordinating, inter alia,
the involvement of local authorities in
initiatives to improve the diet of low income
communities, should be brought to the attention
of the Convention.
- Health Boards should
seek to develop the health alliance partnerships
they have established to maximise local authority
involvement.
- Local authorities, in
the exercise of their wide ranging
responsibilities should examine, develop and
utilise all opportunities available to them to
facilitate dietary improvement. Authorities
should place particular emphasis on ensuring that
their catering provision reflects the guidance in
the Model Nutritional Guidelines for Catering
Specifications for the Public Sector in Scotland;
and that those providing 'meals on wheels'
services, home helps, care assistants and others
involved in food provision hold, and apply, an
appropriate knowledge of diet and nutrition.
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