Council to go sugar-free after signing healthy food pledge

Fizz-Cal Policy: Council signs up to healthy eating pledge. Photograph: Rawpixel.

Hackney Council is now signed up to a declaration to reduce sugar and promote healthier eating, in one of the first pledges of its kind by a local authority in the country.

The declaration, drafted by Sustain, an alliance of over 100 public sector organisations, will tackle advertising and sponsorship of unhealthy food which can contribute to obesity, particularly in children.

The Town Hall will also be removing sugar from Hackney Council’s office kitchens, in what could come as unsettling news for employees with a sweet tooth.

With the declaration, sponsorship from fizzy drinks companies will not be accepted by the Town Hall for events targeting children, and the council is to start exploring opportunities to restrict commercial advertising of sugar-sweetened beverages within the borough.

A report to councillors at a 17 September cabinet meeting of Hackney Council identified a mixture of causes of obesity.

These included the promotion and the easy availability of unhealthy food, as well as environmental factors such as access to sports in schools and general education around the issue.

Deputy Mayor Cllr Feryal Demirci (Lab, Hoxton East & Shoreditch), cabinet member for health, social care, transport and parks, presented the report.

She said: “The report recommends that Hackney signs up to the local authority declaration on sugar reduction and healthier food.

“The declaration supports the council’s strategic objectives relating to obesity and health inequalities as outlined in Hackney’s joint health and wellbeing strategy, and the sustainable community strategy.

“The majority of the work set out in this declaration is already being delivered within Hackney, but by signing this declaration, it brings deserved visibility, so that everyone is aware we are doing this work.”

Hackney Council is one of the first local authorities in the country to sign up.

Just over a quarter of 10 to 11-year-olds in the borough are obese, compared to a 23.2 per cent London average. Over 40 per cent have “excess weight”, compared to 38.1 per cent in London.

Nearly 90,000 adults in Hackney are either overweight or obese. Poverty has been identified as a major driver of the figures, with those from the most deprived backgrounds significantly more likely to be obese.

Dr Penny Bevan, the Town Hall’s director of public health, said: “By signing the declaration the council has agreed to improve the availability of healthier food and drinks across Hackney, and reduce the availability and promotion of unhealthy options.

“Most of this work is already taking place through a cross-sector partnership across the borough leading a ‘whole-systems’ approach to making Hackney a healthier borough.

“The declaration supports our strategic objectives to tackle obesity and health inequalities with pledges that can be delivered practically whilst aligning with other Council services.”