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Obesity alert as borough installs snack machines to raise money
Katharine Barney, Evening Standard27.05.08
Town hall bosses are under fire from health campaigners for planning to put snack vending machines in civic buildings.
Harrow council says it is so strapped for cash after government funding cuts that it needs to install the machines, selling sweets and crisps, to generate income. They will be put in libraries, the civic centre and possibly blocks of flats.
The council hopes to make an extra £25,000 next year but food campaigners condemned the move.
The Government's obesity strategy, launched earlier this year, bans junk food from vending machines in schools.
Tam Fry, chairman of the Child Growth Foundation and a board member of the National Obesity Forum, said: "This is totally inappropriate and contrary to any policy we should be aspiring to.
"If any council wants vending machines they should put in healthy food and while the cash might not come at first, if they persist, it will."
Paul Osborn, Harrow councillor for strategy and business support, said the council had to find money following a cut in its Government grant.
"We have been hit very heavily," he said. "We have already cut down on management structure, upped our charges for daycare and cut back on street cleaning, which we weren't very happy about and hope to remedy soon.
"Nothing will be done without a proper business plan but we intend to put the machines in public buildings first and then look at the possibility of rolling them out to large residential blocks. They will have the normal selection of crisps and other snacks. We may also introduce coffee chains if the case can be made."
To generate cash, Harrow also wants to increase pest control charges, raising a further £10,000. It will carry out more inspections to identify over-running roadworks and fine the utility companies responsible, hopefully raising £75,000.
Harrow is one of many councils that are warning they may have to slash services because the way the Government has calculated their grants has changed, leaving them short of cash.
Harrow says it has £212 less per person than neighbouring boroughs. Camden has been forced to sell advertising space on the back of parking tickets and Lambeth and Southwark have restricted services such as meals on wheels to only the most needy.
Merrick Cockell, chairman of London Councils, said: "London was the hardest-hit part of the country in the current funding settlement.
"This means the vast majority of boroughs will receive the minimum increase in grant over the next three years for vital services.
"Boroughs have a good record for making efficiency savings but the settlement has left them with unpalatable decisions between rationing services or increasing council taxes."
Reader views (2)
Only a sick borough can think that eating snacks and chocolates is the right medicine for a healthy bank balance.
- Mr S.Port, London
The real evil hear is the Local Government funding settlement, and it is profoundly unfair. London ratepayers fund the GLA and their own services, but when it comes to redistributing those funds Londoners are penalised. But this is not restricted to London, other parts of the country also suffer. Take Cornwall for example and funding for education. They get between 5% 8% less than the rest of the country -that's their punishment for not voting Labour.
- Jeremiah, London
