Ministers will move this week to curb the spread of fast-food outlets near schools when they unveil an action plan intended to halt Britain's spiralling levels of obesity.
They want limits placed on the number of such businesses that are allowed to open, especially near schools and parks. Local councils already have the power to impose restrictions, but rarely do so.
Health Secretary Alan Johnson and Communities Secretary Hazel Blears are discussing how to secure much tighter controls as part of a renewed effort to reduce consumption of unhealthy food. Blears is expected to write to every local authority urging them to put public-health interests before commercial considerations and use their planning powers to reject applications that would create a concentration of fast-food premises in a small area.
Last night the plan was ridiculed by the Local Government Association, which represents local councils. 'No council has used this power because there is no evidence that it makes the slightest bit of difference to obesity,' said a spokesman.
Details will be confirmed on Wednesday when the government launches its strategy to combat the obesity crisis. Johnson will name the places that will become Britain's first 'healthy towns' by prioritising walking and cycling, outdoor green spaces and community-based initiatives to promote a good diet. 'Healthy towns' are based on a French system of trying to increase the amount of physical activity people take, called the Epode programme.
Hundreds of millions of pounds will be put into these initiatives and into a new social marketing campaign, including television advertising, to tell the public the best ways to avoid becoming overweight.
Johnson will say that the strategy is not a solution to the obesity epidemic and is merely the start of a 10-year government campaign to tackle the problem, which will claim many lives, cost the nation billions and overburden the NHS if left unchecked.
But experts are likely to criticise the strategy as a damp squib that will have little effect. Insiders admit the document has been watered down following discussions with various government departments. Culture Secretary James Purnell, for example, objected to plans to extend existing limits on the times when fatty, sugary food products can be advertised on television in order to limit children's exposure to them. 'He won that battle, which caused angst within government, especially the Department of Health,' revealed an insider. There has also been a behind-the-scenes battle over whether exhorting individuals to change their lifestyles is worthwhile. Evidence suggests that this approach has achieved little behavioural change, and that ministers who want different tactics have prevailed.
