Agenda item

Scrutiny Report to note.

Executive report for decision. 

ORDERED that the Executive:

1.      Note the report of the Adult Social Care and Health Scrutiny Panel on Healthy Placemaking with a Focus on Childhood Obesity and its accompanying recommendations; and

2.      Approve the Action Plan prepared by the relevant service areas in response to those recommendations.

The Adult Social Care and Health Scrutiny Panel submitted a report for Executive’s consideration.

The purpose of the scrutiny report was to present the findings of the Adult Social Care and Health Scrutiny Panel following its review of Healthy Placemaking with a Focus on Childhood Obesity. The Service Action Plan was developed in response to the Panel’s recommendations.

The Panel’s recommendations were:

A.       The Council should strengthen visible leadership on healthy weight by ensuring LMT members sponsor and champion Healthy Weight Declaration commitments.  A written progress update should be provided to the ASC and Health Scrutiny Panel within 12 months.

B.       The Council should build on the existing Public Health Service Level Agreements to formalise shared responsibility across all departments, ensuring health and equity considerations are applied in all decision making.  A progress update should be provided to the ASC and Health Scrutiny Panel within 6 months.

C.      A review of the implementation of the Council’s Advertising Policy should be undertaken to ensure it aligns with the emerging national restrictions on the promotion of unhealthy products, a progress update should be provided to the ASC and Health Scrutiny Panel within 12 months.

D.      A cross-departmental Steering Group should be established, supported by the Leadership Management Team, to review how the Council currently interacts with Unhealthy Commodity Industries (UCIs) through contracts, grants, sponsorships etc.  The Steering Group should undertake a 12-month audit and provide guidance to ensure consistent decision-making aligns with public health aims. Progress should be reported back to the ASC and Health Scrutiny Panel by April 2027.

E.       Public Health and Children’s Services should work jointly to increase the number of Middlesbrough schools participating in the Eat Well Schools Award, with a particular focus on schools located in the wards with the highest childhood obesity prevalence. A progress update should be reported back to the ASC and Health Scrutiny Panel by April 2027.

F.       The Council should continue to invest in safe, well-connected walking and cycling infrastructure, with a focus on improving access, safety and connectivity between homes, schools, green spaces and local amenities, particularly in more deprived areas.  Progress should be aligned with existing transport programmes and reported to the ASC and Health Scrutiny Panel within 12 months.

G.      Transport and Infrastructure should support school-led development of Active Travel to School Action Plans, identifying a small number of priority schools using relevant indicators (e.g. obesity prevalence, school gate congestion and existing active travel rates). As part of this work, the service should engage directly with all parts of the school community including pupils, parents/carers, staff and governors, to understand the key barriers to walking and cycling.  The findings should then be used to shape tailored interventions for each school and progress reported back to the ASC and Health Scrutiny Panel within 12 months.

H.      Opportunities should be sought to extend the Creating Active Schools model to enable more schools in Middlesbrough to develop their own whole school programmes to increasing physical activity, working alongside the Eat well Schools programme to improve food quality and choices, particularly around schools with high levels of obesity and deprivation.  Relevant indicators should be used to measure progress, such as activity monitors, and the findings reported back to the ASC and Health Scrutiny Panel in 12 months.

I.          The Council should maintain and, for as long as necessary, future‑proof the strategic Creating Active and Healthy Spaces Lead role and the companion operational role of Healthy Placemaking Officer. It should also pilot the use of Health Impact Assessments (HIAs) ahead of adoption of the Local Plan. The Local Plan will require that HIAs are prepared for all residential developments of 100 or more dwellings, with other major developments screened on a case‑by‑case basis to determine whether an HIA is required. Going forward, outcomes should be monitored annually through KPIs, with the first summary report, produced during this transitional period, presented within 12 months to the ASC and Health Scrutiny Panel.  

J.        Regular assurance should be provided to the ASC and Health Scrutiny Panel by reporting on a six-monthly basis, the number and location of hot food takeaways in the town.  This should include new applications, refusals, closures, retrospective planning applications and related enforcement.

K.       The Council should continue to advocate to Government, for increased support to reduce child poverty in Middlesbrough, recognising its significant impact on childhood obesity and wider health inequalities.

The Chair of the Adult Social Care and Health Scrutiny Panel advised Executive that childhood obesity remained a significant and persistent public health challenge within Middlesbrough, contributing to poorer health outcomes, reduced quality of life and widening inequalities.

Executive were also advised that healthy placemaking was everyone’s responsibility and should be embedded in everything the Council did. There was not a single solution but some foundations for this were already in place including provisions for hot food takeaways as part of planning considerations and the signing of the healthy weight declaration.

It was noted that the Scrutiny Panel had undertaken a detailed review during 2025, examining prevalence rates, contributing factors such as deprivation and environment, and the role of partnership working in addressing the issue.

Members heard that the review had adopted a whole-system approach, incorporating input from Public Health, Planning, Transport and Infrastructure, and partners including the You’ve Got This – Sport England Place Partnership.

It was noted that the findings and recommendations had been endorsed by the Overview and Scrutiny Board on 18 March 2026 and subsequently referred to Executive for consideration.

Members noted that an Action Plan had been developed in response to the recommendations. The Action Plan, detailed at Appendix 2 of the report, provided a framework for implementation and aimed to deliver a coordinated, long-term approach to improving health outcomes and reducing inequalities.

In response to a query about educational input to the review, it was clarified this was largely due to availability. The Mayor offered to attend the Adult Social Care and Health Scrutiny Panel to provide updates on initiatives that could contribute to the issue, such as the Council’s School Catering offer. The Chair of the Scrutiny Panel welcomed this offer.

An Executive Member commented that the eat well school awards could also contribute to this issue.

The Executive Member for Public Health provided the service response and advised Executive that all the Panel’s recommendations were welcomed and that there was a need for strong leadership on this matter. There was also a need to embed health into everyday decision making and to make sure health inequalities were captured as part of key decisions.

The Council was working to bring all services together in this regard, with the introduction of the healthy advertising policy cited as an example.

An Executive Member commented that it would be difficult to address childhood obesity in isolation without tackling deprivation as well.  

Executive acknowledged that the proposed approach aligned with the Council Plan priorities, particularly the ambition to create a healthier place, support inclusive growth, strengthen communities and ensure best value through evidence-based decision making.

OPTIONS

Executive considered taking no action, which would have involved not implementing the Scrutiny Panel’s recommendations and maintaining the current position. This option was not supported, as it risked missing opportunities to improve public health outcomes, limited progress in addressing childhood obesity, and reduced confidence in the effectiveness of the Scrutiny process as a mechanism for challenge and improvement.

ORDERED that the Executive:

1.     Note the report of the Adult Social Care and Health Scrutiny Panel on Healthy Placemaking with a Focus on Childhood Obesity and its accompanying recommendations; and

2.     Approve the Action Plan prepared by the relevant service areas in response to those recommendations.

REASONS

It was a requirement that Executive formally considered the Scrutiny Panel’s report and confirmed the service area’s response to the accompanying plan.