Scrutinising Birmingham's Childhood Obesity Trailblazer Programme

What's happened

Birmingham City Council has provided a Year 3 Q1 update on its Childhood Obesity Trailblazer Programme. Funded by the Department of Health and Social Care and administered by the Local Government Association, the initiative provides £100,000 annually to test how local powers can influence the social and economic determinants of health.

The council's approach focuses heavily on two areas: using planning powers to create a healthier environment (via a Healthy City Planning toolkit) and embedding health messaging into employment training (via a 'spiral curriculum' for apprenticeships). The latest update confirms that responses from the toolkit consultation have been reviewed and findings are being prepared for Cabinet delivery.

However, the update also highlights significant challenges, including difficulties in getting the toolkit embedded into local planning policy and a struggle to encourage apprenticeship providers to adopt the new curriculum.

What it means for Erdington and Pype Hayes

Childhood obesity is a serious issue that affects families across Erdington and Pype Hayes. If successful, this programme could mean stricter planning rules regarding the concentration of fast-food outlets near our schools and better health education integrated into local apprenticeship schemes.

However, the current challenges mean that the tangible benefits for our ward remain unclear. If the council cannot convince its own planning department to adopt the toolkit, or local training providers to use the curriculum, the £100,000 annual funding risks being spent on reports and consultations rather than practical improvements on our high streets and in our community centres.

Where I stand

I fully support the ambition to tackle childhood obesity. It is a complex issue that requires a thoughtful, evidence-led approach. The counter-argument to my concerns is that systemic change takes time, and developing robust planning toolkits is a necessary first step before we see changes on the ground.

I respect that view, but as your Reform UK councillor, my priority is ensuring that council initiatives deliver measurable results for Erdington and Pype Hayes, not just bureaucratic exercises. When the council admits it is struggling to get its own departments and local providers to adopt these measures, we have to ask hard questions about delivery and value for money. We need practical action that supports families to make healthier choices, not just more policy documents gathering dust.

Questions we're asking

As the Reform UK opposition, I am putting the following scrutiny questions to the decision-maker on behalf of our residents:

• To Cllr Nosheen Khalid (Health and Social Care): The Year 3 Q1 update notes challenges in getting the Healthy City Planning toolkit embedded into local planning policy. What is the specific timeline for this integration into the Birmingham Development Plan, and what happens if the planning department rejects these health-focused constraints?
• To Cllr Nosheen Khalid: The update highlights difficulty in encouraging Apprenticeship and Learning and Skills Providers to adopt the 'spiral curriculum'. Given the £100,000 annual funding for this Trailblazer programme, how much has been spent developing a curriculum that providers are reluctant to use, and what is the backup plan?
• To Cllr Nosheen Khalid: The council plans to publish a 'We asked, you said, we did' document following the toolkit consultation. Can you guarantee that this document will explicitly detail how feedback from Erdington and Pype Hayes residents has shaped the final policy, rather than just relying on city-wide averages?
• To Cllr Nosheen Khalid: With the programme aiming to influence the "social and economic determinants of health," how will success be measured in wards like Erdington? What specific, numerical reduction in childhood obesity rates is the council committing to achieve by the end of this programme?

What happens next

The council is preparing to publish the revised toolkit alongside a 'We asked, you said, we did' document. They will also be attempting to leverage the internal planning department to embed the toolkit into the Birmingham Development Plan. My office will monitor these developments closely and await the responses to our scrutiny questions.

Have your say

Do you think the council's approach to tackling childhood obesity is working? Register on the site to leave a comment below, vote in our ward forum poll, or start a petition if you feel strongly about public health initiatives in our area.

Source: Local Government Association