Month: April 2023

Obesity targets being missed and obesity policies failing, reports find

A report by the Institute of Government report finds that every government since 1992 has missed targets to reduce obesity and tries to identify the reasons behind these policy failures and sets out how to make progress. It finds that tackling obesity has suffered from ministers fearing the perception of nanny statism, despite there being public support for ambitious measures.

tackling-obesity.pdf (instituteforgovernment.org.uk)

Unicef publishes guide to supporting mental health in infancy and beyond

Unicef UK has published a resource to guide to support service leaders, commissioners and policy teams to develop a whole-system approach to support the mental health of babies and young children and enable them to develop the capacities to be mentally healthy throughout their lives. Uniced say it acknowledges that it can be harder for professionals to work together to promote and protect mental health at this life stage, as understanding varies across sectors and suggests practical steps to help all services play their role and work together.
Understanding and supporting mental health in infancy and early childhood: a toolkit to support local action in the UK

NHS performance has declined due to lower funding and lack of workforce planning, report finds

A report by former King’s Fund chief executive health policy academic Professor Chris Ham has found performance in the NHS has declined since 2010 as a result of much lower funding increases, limited funds for capital investment and neglect of workforce planning. This decline comes after multi-year funding increases and reforms had led to improvements in NHS performance between 2000 and 2010. The Rise and Decline of the NHS in England 2000-20 (kingsfund.org.uk)