Obesity All-Party Parliamentary Group

This article is part of the Foodspin project of Spinwatch.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Obesity (APPG) was 'a cross-party group of MPs and peers devoted to raising the profile of obesity, campaigning for appropriate policy change and acting as a focal point for debate and the exchange of ideas, views and information'.

It has since been renamed the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Adult and Childhood Obesity and according to the All-Party Parliamentary Group Register the group's purpose is 'to act as a central resource for childhood and adult obesity related issues; to create a platform for MPs and Peers to discuss the issues around obesity; and to work with experts and stakeholders within the field.'

Initial establishment

According to Helen Johnson Public Affairs:

In January 2001, the National Audit Office set out the significant costs of obesity for the first time - both to the NHS and to the economy as a whole - and called upon the Government to adopt a consistent approach to the management of obesity, with more extensive joint working across the NHS and Government, both nationally and locally.

Frustrated at the lack of progress and commitment at national level, concerned MPs and healthcare professionals decided to form the All Party Parliamentary Obesity Group to act as a focal point for parliamentary concerns about obesity, diet and nutrition. HJCL was actively involved in setting up the Group in 2002 and, in conjunction with the National Obesity Forum, has continued to provide secretariat support ever since.

HJCL is responsible for designing, managing and implementing the Group's rolling programme of parliamentary, policy and media relations activities including writing and producing quarterly newsletters, briefing MPs and peers, liaising with third parties, planning and coordinating bi-monthly meetings, writing meeting reports and organising parliamentary receptions and visits.

Group relaunch

The Group was relaunched on Wednesday 4 June 2008. This event supported by the Association for the Study of Obesity (ASO), after a two-year break following previous support by the National Obesity Forum.

People

Officers, February - April 2016

• Chair: Maggie Throup - Conservative Party
• Vice-chair: Emma Reynolds - Labour
• Vice-chair: Baroness Anne Jenkin of Kennington - Conservative Party
• Vice-chair: Baron Norman Warner - Non-affiliated
• Vice-chair: John McNally - Scottish National Party

Members

Llin Golding | John Krebs | Clive Brooke | Kevin Barron | Fiona Mactaggart | Grahame M. Morris | Keith Vaz | Paul Flynn | Bill Esterson | Anne Jenkin | Eric Lubbock | Michael Dobbs | Dr Sarah Wollaston | Mark Williams | Gordon Henderson | Stephen Dorrell | Andrew Selous

Secretariat

The Whitehouse Consultancy acts as the group's secretariat, helping with administration and event coordination.

Benefits in kind

In January 2016, The Whitehouse Consultancy paid (in bands of £1,500) £13,501-£15,000 to the group.

Drug company funding

According to Robert Thomson, the editor of The Times in 2006:

The Obesity group is supported by the National Obesity Forum. In January, the President of the National Obesity Forum, Dr Ian Campbell, quit claiming it had become too dependent on drug company funding. The forum lists GlaxoSmithKline UK ltd, Slim Fast Food Ltd, Tanita UK Ltd, Sanofi-Aventis Ltd as amongst their “partners".

Contact

The public enquiry point for the group is Sam Blainey of the secretariat The Whitehouse Consultancy.

Address: 305 Metal Box Factory, 30 Great Guildford Street, London SE1 0HS

Tel: 020 7463 0689

Email: samuel.blainey@whitehouseconsulting.co.uk