Westminster Diet and Health Forum

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The Westminster Food and Nutrition Forum is an offshoot of the previously named The Westminster Diet and Health Forum, which has now become The Westminster Health Forum. [1]

According to its website:

it aims to provide the premier environment for policy makers in Parliament, Whitehall and government agencies to engage with key stakeholders. These include nutrition professionals, industry representatives and their advisors, interest groups, NHS bodies and private care providers, education professionals, local authorities, the voluntary sector and academia, along with members of the reporting press. [2]
In planning its programme of events the Forum consults parliamentarians, senior departmental officials, regulators, industry representatives and major interest groups. The WD&HF has no policy agenda of its own.
The Westminster Food & Nutrition Forum is completely impartial and has no policy agenda of its own. While we are grateful for the support and advice on themes that we receive from sponsors, all editorial decisions remain with the Forum in order to maintain impartiality.[3]

The Forum a project of Westminster Forum Projects, a UK Limited Company (Company number: 3856121).


Events

In February 2009, the forum ran a seminar on "Childhood obesity and Responsibility: the next step for policy". The seminar discussed the "latest thinking on policy to address childhood obesity in the UK, the initial focus for the Government’s ambitious Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives strategy. Delegates will also discuss progress so far in the Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives initiative, and latest statistical indicators on the scale of the problem".[4] The seminar was held just after the main events of the Government's Change4Life initiative came on stream.[5]

Among the confirmed speakers at the seminar are Baroness Peta Buscombe who when chief executive of the Advertising Association was closely involved in the formation of Business4Life the business coalition partner to the Change4Life initiative. Sandra Gidley MP Liberal Democrat spokesperson on health and member of the Pharmacy All Party Parliamentary Groupand the Associate Parliamentary Health Group.

People

Patrons

Publications

The forum publishes the papers and reports discussed at its seminars. These publications use a similar style to that of official Westminster publications in the use of the portcullis symbol and plain buff/yellow covers. [6] [7]

See also

Notes

  1. The Westminster Food & Nutrition Forum and The Westminster Health Forum, accessed 23 September 2010.
  2. This has changed from 'where parliamentarians, senior policy advisors, regulators and other decision makers can discuss critical issues, and exchange ideas and information with leaders from industry, responsible interest groups, analysts, academics, journalists and others.'
  3. The Westminster Food & Nutrition Forum, accessed 23 September 2010. This text replaced the previous statement:'The Forum strives to be as inclusive, encompassing and relevant as possible. One aspect of this is a standard practice of all sessions including comments and questions from the floor. Another is flexibility in the planning of events to enable current and newly emerging issues to be reflected.'
  4. Westminster Diet and Health Forum Planned events,Accessed December 18 2008
  5. Mark Sweney, Government unveils details of £275m anti-obesity pushThe Guardian, November 11 2008, Accessed December 18 2008
  6. Books by ISBN Nutrition and school age children, Accessed December 18 2008
  7. Books by ISBN Health Inequalities:Implementing the Choosing a Better Diet action plan, Accessed December 18 2008