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Dept of Health

Answer

Mr. Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department is giving to primary care trusts on how to raise levels of sport and physical activity to the Government target. [159954] Miss Melanie Johnson: The national service framework for coronary heart disease and the NHS Plan require local action to tackle obesity and physical activity, informed by advice from the Health Development Agency (HDA) on what works. The Department commissioned the HDA to conduct a review of the evidence on the effectiveness of public health interventions for increasing physical activity amongst adults. This will be published shortly. The guidance will be available to national health service regions, strategic health authorities and primary care trusts as well as local government. The launch of the consultation on public health, "Choosing Health?", provides the opportunity to discuss at a national, regional and local level what needs to be done to develop a coherent strategy to improve health. The activity co-ordination team will publish its draft proposals setting out current and future action to increase activity levels. The Government will then publish a White Paper setting out its strategy for action in the summer.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

419 c1067-8W;419 c1069-70W; 159954

Session

2003-04

Subjects

Disease control Heart diseases Obesity Sports Exercise Public health

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk