Further to the statement made by the Minister for Health and Community Care at the Diet and Cancer Conference in Glasgow on 14 May 2002, wh…

Eating for Health, the Scottish Diet Action Plan, set out dietary targets and recommended that accurate consistent healthy eating messages should be based on these. The dietary action recommended in Eating for Health is aimed at improving overall health and reducing the incidence of preventable dietary-related illnesses, including heart disease, diabetes and some cancers. The recommendations in Eating for Health apply to all sections of the community.Healthy eating in line with Eating for Health is promoted as part of health improvement by a range of organisations in the public, private and voluntary sectors. A National Food and Health Co-ordinator was appointed in 2001 to give further impetus to implementation of Eating for Health. Information on the total resources involved in this work, which includes support for breakfast clubs from a number of sources, is not held centrally, nor is it possible to break down expenditure to identify work with adults and children separately. The Scottish Executive allocates £1 million each year to implementing Eating for Health and has prioritised diet within the £26 million Health Improvement Fund. Diet forms an important part of the £6 million National Health Demonstration Project "Have a Heart Paisley". The Executive has also created a £250,000 Breakfast Service Challenge Fund to expand services targeting vulnerable children and is reviewing current provision, and is also taking steps to improve the quality of school meals. The Scottish Community Diet Project has a specific remit to work with low-income communities and will receive funding of £1.2 million between 2002 and 2005. It supports a range of community food initiatives including breakfast clubs, community garden and allotment schemes, healthy food tasting sessions and local healthy food stores.