Television celebrity chef, Jamie Oliver’s fight to get the government to make sure new academies and free schools don’t serve junk food to their pupils has been backed by Liberal Democrat MP Julian Huppert.

Julian raised the issue with Education Minister, Michael Gove after he received a letter from Jamie and an email from a resident both expressing their concerns.

He has also signed a Commons’ Early Day Motion welcoming Jamie’s campaign and calling on Mr Gove to change the law to make academies and free schools serve food that meets nutritional regulations.

Julian said: “It is vital that our children receive good, nutritional meals, not only to promote healthy living now but also to teach them how to eat well for the future.

“We have children across the country who are obese because of poor diets and lack of exercise. We cannot afford to take any chances that this problem will be compounded by poor nutritional standards in our schools when we have introduced laws to protect against it.

“All schools teaching our children should be bound by the regulations put in place to safeguard the health of pupils in their care; there should be no exceptions.”

Mr Gove told Julian: “Free schools and new academies which have been set up from September 2010 are not required to comply with the school food standards.

“Studies by the School Food Trust now provide good evidence of the benefits of a balanced meal on pupils’ concentration, behaviour and ability to learn. Given this evidence we expect that free schools and academies will still want to promote healthy eating and good nutrition through the provision of high quality lunch services.

“We have asked the School Food Trust to survey the quality of food in a sample of academies in response to concerns raised by Jamie Oliver and we expect the trust to report to us within the next few months.”

Sport England is determined to create a meaningful and lasting community sport legacy not only from the London 2012 Olympic Games, but also the Paralympic Games, by growing sports participation by disabled people at the grassroots level.

At present, only one in six disabled adults plays sport regularly. We want to change this.

The Inclusive Sport Fund has been set up by Sport England with £8 million of National Lottery Funding. It will invest in programmes designed to grow the number of disabled young people (age 14+) and adults regularly playing sport.

We are looking for innovative, scalable and replicable projects that make it easier and more enjoyable for disabled people to take part in sport and physical activity more often.

The application form will be made available on this website on 1st June 2012, please review the Inclusive Sport Funding prospectus that includes the assessment and eligibility criteria prior to the application form being made available.

The deadline for submission of applications is 5pm on the 31 August.

For further information and queries please contact Sport England on 08458 508 508.

Sport England will be organising a series of workshops providing further information and support in June and July 2012.

Further details of these, including locations and dates, will appear by the end of May.

Next week is Dementia Awareness Week and people in North East Lincolnshire are being urged to Remember the Person.

People in our area are living longer than ever before. However, as our local population gets older, long term health conditions like dementia are having an impact on a growing number of families.

There are currently 617 people in North East Lincolnshire who are registered with their GP as having dementia. However, many people remain undiagnosed and national estimates suggest there will be up to 2,000 people with dementia symptoms in the area.

The over 65 population in North East Lincolnshire is expected to increase by 38% from 2008 to 2025 with a corresponding increase of 52% in the incidence of dementia.

Dementia Awareness Week, which starts on Sunday, aims to increase understanding of the condition and address misconceptions. At the end of the week, there will be an opportunity to give your views on how you feel dementia services should be provided in North Lincolnshire.

Early intervention and the right support can improve mental health, enhance the quality of life and enable people with dementia to live as independently as possible for longer.

Between the 20th and 26th May six local organizations are putting on more than 20 events to raise awareness of dementia. These include stands in Freshney place, Reminiscence Pods, Talks and Tea Dances. For full information about the planned events please download our full guide from here.

The theme of Dementia Awareness Week this year is ‘Remember the person’ and everyone is being encourage to learn a little about dementia so they can see beyond someone’s diagnosis.

The following five things are what everyone should know about dementia:
1. It’s not a natural part of growing old.
2. It’s caused by diseases of the brain. The most common of these is Alzheimer’s.
3. It’s not just about losing your memory – it can affect thinking, communicating and doing everyday tasks.
4. It’s possible to live well with it.
5. There’s more to a person than the dementia.

Remember the Person.

Liberal Democrat MP Mark Hunter has teamed up with TV presenter and former carer Fiona Phillips to support this year’s Carers Week (18-24 June) and recognise the contribution made by those peoplethroughout the UK who provide unpaid care for someone who is ill, frail or disabled. The work they carry out is vital for their families and friends, and for their communities.

The theme for Carers Week 2012 is ‘In sickness and in health” recognising the strain families are under as they see their services cut back. It calls for better financial and practical support for the diverse range of people who have caring responsibilities.

Research carried out in 2012 found that carers are at breaking point

•47% of unpaid carers said they were made ill by money worries

•45% of unpaid carers said that caring had pushed them into debt

Mark and Fiona have joined together to pay tribute to carers, and to urge that they receive more support in their caring roles.

Commenting, Mark said:

“Thousands of people in Cheadle sacrifice not only their time, but also their money and their health in order to care for a loved one. Together they save this country an incredible £119 billion every year. It’s vital that carers are offered regular breaks from caring and health checks so that they can be supported.

“I am taking part in Carers Week to show my respect and appreciation for our carers. I also want to let them know that there are services out there to help them. Caring can be so incredibly demanding. It’s important that carers know that they don’t have to struggle on alone.”

Fiona Phillips has personal experience of being a carer. She says:

“From personal experience, I know caring can demand a lot of your time and attention, which in some cases can put pressure on other areas in your life such as financial responsibilities and relationships. These problems can prove to be exhausting and mentally gruelling and can really take its toll on your health and wellbeing. I hope that Carers Week can again help to achieve change, and make a real difference to the lives of carers in this country.”

Helen Clarke, the Carers Week Manager said:

“I’m delighted that MPs are listening to carers’ concerns and supporting this year’s Carers Week. We must take action to support theUK’s 6.4 million carers. Many are paying the price of a care system in crisis – being forced to give up work to care and often pushed into ill-health, financial hardship and debt because of a lack of support to help them care.”

Carers Week is organised by a partnership of 8 national charities: Age UK, Carers Trust, Carers UK, Independent Age, Macmillan Cancer Support, Marie Curie Cancer Care, MS Society, and Parkinson’s UK. For more information about local events and activities visit www.carersweek.org.

The Government has announced a series of deadlines for people in England who are not already getting NHS Continuing Healthcare to ask for an assessment if they or a relative think they might need this sort of help.

NHS continuing healthcare is a package of continuing care provided outside hospital by health and social care professionals to meet the physical or mental health needs of adults. They might need extra care due to disability or because of an accident or illness.

A health or social care worker will decide if a patient is eligible for consideration for NHS continuing healthcare by undertaking an initial checklist. If the person triggers on this checklist then they will be referred on for a full assessment of eligibility, this part of the process is the responsibility of the PCT to complete. Eligibility for NHS continuing healthcare is reviewed regularly, however if you are already getting this sort of help then these new deadlines do not apply to you.

The government recently announced a series of deadlines for people in England to request an assessment to see if they are eligible for NHS continuing healthcare funding for cases during the period April 1, 2004 – March 31, 2012.

The deadlines apply to previously un-assessed periods of care, which occurred in the following time periods:

Time Period Deadline
April 1, 2004 – September 30, 2007 September 30, 2012
October 1, 2007 – March 31, 2011 September 30, 2012
April 1, 2011 – March 31, 2012 March 31, 2013

In North East Lincolnshire, you should contact the Continuing Health Team at North East Lincolnshire Care Trust Plus using the contact details below:

North East Lincolnshire
Cleethorpes Primary Care Centre
St Hughes Avenue
Cleethorpes
DN35 8EB
(01472) 721325 or 721327
Nel-ct.CHC-FNCAuthorisationrequests@nhs.net

If you live in North Lincolnshire and wish to request an assessment please contact the NHS North Lincolnshire Continuing Healthcare Team for further information using the contact details below:

North Lincolnshire
Health Place
Wrawby Road
Brigg
North Lincs
DN20 8GS
(01652) 251026
nlp-pct.continuingcare@nhs.net

The Walking Hockey will take place over three free sessions at one hour per week on a Friday mornings 9am – 10 am with the opportunity to socialise and ask questions over a cup of tea or coffee in the cafe at the Cleethorpes Leisure Centre following the session.

The age for participants is from 60 years of age but if there are others who haven’t quite reached this age who might feel they would get some benefit and enjoyment from the sessions would also be welcome.

The dates for the free Try an Olympic Sport sessions are as follows:
Friday 11th May 9am, no cost
Friday 18th May 9am, no cost
Friday 25th May 9am, no cost

All sessions will take place in the sports hall at Cleethorpes Leisure Centre which is well serviced by Stagecoach buses. If there is sufficient interest following the free taster days regular weekly sessions will be organised at the same location.

The format will be as follows, gentle warm up, simple stick and ball use, passing receiving the ball and a small sided game.
The rules of the game are very few which will be explained and demonstrated.
The game will take the form of England Hockey’s new game called Rush Hockey but at walking pace. The ball is larger and lighter than the standard hockey ball allowing greater control and less chance of being injured when hit by the ball. The goals are smaller and there are no goalkeepers, there are 4 or 5 players per team on the pitch and substitutes can be made at any time.

All playing equipment will be provided but if people wish to wear shin pads (recommended) that would be ok.
Clothing should be loose with trainers as footwear and participants are recommended to bring a drink with them.

Anyone wishing for further details can contact me on 01472 697385,
email nelvetshc@hotmail.co.uk
or go to the website www.nelvets-hockeyclub.co.uk

According to the newly-formed charity, the Carers Trust, many unpaid carers who are not given help are struggling to cope with their responsibilities while caring for loved ones with long-term health conditions.

The Carers Trust also found that six out of every 10 of the people they questioned said taking care of a close family member has had a negative impact on their own career and mental health.

Two thirds of thiose questioned also stated they had not asked for help from any services available for unpaid carers before, and another six of every 10 of the carers who had been responsible for a person’s wellbeing for five years or more had also never contacted services that provide support.

Currently there are around six million British carers who are taking care of ill or disabled family members or friends.

The charity said that a number of those find the strain of their responsibilities often lead to them feeling detached from society.

‘As this survey shows, many unpaid carers have never accessed any support services to help them in their caring role. We already know that many carers simply don’t have any awareness of the kind of help that is out there and what a huge difference it could make to their lives,’ said

Anne Roberts, chief executive of Carers Trust said:

“We’ve launched the Carers Trust so we can ensure that all carers know where to go to get that help when they need it and to help society recognise and value the role of carers in our communities across the UK.”

Rewad more at http://ht.ly/aMyFR

Shall We Dance and Essentially Dance are two programmes inspired by dance champions Darren Bennett and Lilia Kopylova, stars of the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing show, that are run by North East Lincolnshire Council’s Specialist Health Promotion Team.

Essentially Dance trains teachers to teach waltz, cha cha cha, jive and quickstep in schools while Shall We Dance encourages older people to use Latin and ballroom dancing as a way to socialise and keep fit.

The two programmes are coming together to showcase dances from several schools, adult dance groups and professional dancers. There will also be a chance for everyone to take to the floor and join in a cha cha cha and a quickstep. Darren Bennett will compere the event and lead everyone in a final dance.

Laura Peggs, programme coordinator said:

“The dancing has been a great success; children in school and more senior participants have really taken to it. Dancing is a really great way to get moving and increase activity whatever age you are. Latin and ballroom are energetic, social and improves fitness, coordination and control.”

The Showcase takes place at the Grimsby Auditorium on Tuesday, May 1, 2012 from 5.30 pm. Tickets are available from the Auditorium and cost just £3.00.

If you would like to find out about you nearest dance group contact the Family Information Service on 0800 18 303 17 or Specialist Health Promotion Service on (01472) 325941

Care Plus Group’s Cancer Collaborative is looking for volunteers to train as Cancer Champions to work in local communities spreading the word on how to spot potential cancer symptoms.

Cancer Champions are ordinary members of the community who are prepared to undertake some short training, following which their role is simply to raise awareness within their family, friends, neighbours and work colleagues, by word of mouth and distribution of information. Importantly they would be able to signpost people who they have contact with to the range of services available and assist you in giving information which is beneficial to others, motivating people to seek early medical assistance.

As part of the Care Plus’ Cancer Collaborative programme, over 60 individuals have completed the Cancer Champions training to ensure they are equipped to raise awareness of potential cancer symptoms within their local community.

Training sessions are scheduled to take place in the Garden Room at Second Avenue Resource Centre, Second Avenue, Nunsthorpe, Grimsby on:

• Wednesday 25th April 10:00am – 2:00pm,

• Monday 18th June 10:00am – 2:00pm

Julie Grimmer, Cancer/CHD Programme Manager for Care Plus Group, said:

“Cancer Champions are ordinary members of the community who are prepared to undertake some short training, following which their role is simply to raise awareness with their family, friends, neighbours and work colleagues, by word of mouth and distribution of information.

“The aim is to help people to recognise symptoms and go for help when needed. Importantly they would be able to signpost people to seek help early on recognition of potential cancer symptoms. The key message is that early detection saves lives.”

The cancer champions are trained to raise awareness of:
• Bowel Cancer

• Bowel Cancer Screening Programme

• Cervical Cancer

• Cervical Cancer Screening Programme

• Prostate Cancer

• Lung Cancer

• Breast Cancer

• Breast Cancer Screening Programme

• Skin Cancer

• Throat Cancer

If you are interested in attending the training one of the sessions, please contact Rachael Ogley on 01472 232265 or Rachael.ogley@nhs.net

Introducing a minimum price for alcohol and banning discounted multi-buy deals could see a surge in potentially dangerous black market booze, public health leaders are warning.

They say the Government’s focus on making alcohol less affordable could risk pushing cash-strapped adults to buy cheap counterfeit wines and spirits which could make them blind or even kill them.

Speaking at the Local Government Association’s Alcohol Strategy Conference today (Tuesday, 17 April), public health experts said attempts to increase alcohol prices would also fail to curb binge drinking or tackle the associated anti-social behaviour and health problems it creates.

The LGA wants to see reduced bureaucracy of the current licensing system to allow councils to act more quickly on residents’ concerns, local authorities given the power to decide locally how to spend a late night levy on night clubs and bars, and local health experts given a say on the opening of new off-licenses selling cheap alcohol.

Cllr David Rogers, Chair of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board, said:

“We are concerned that targeting cheap alcohol could push people to the black market and cheaper drinks. When drinking counterfeit brands, you can never be sure what you are putting into your body. People who think they are getting a bargain could end up making themselves blind or even drinking themselves to death.

“We know there is no simple solution to alcohol abuse but tackling cheap drinks is only one part of the problem. Focusing solely on making alcohol less affordable will fail to address the root causes of binge drinking as well as the nuisance, vandalism and risks to health it causes.

“National gestures like minimum pricing and banning multi-buy discounts will only go so far in deterring binge drinking and don’t take into account the varying issues in town and city centres across the country. We need to see councils given the powers and flexibility to tackle problems locally.

“We now need a system that allows local authorities to act on the concerns of the people in their area by saying ‘no’ to a new late night club on a street that is already saturated with them. We also want to see health experts given a say on whether the opening of a corner shop selling cheap booze could contribute to alcohol dependency in a particular area.”

In the past, tests on bottles of fake vodka seized by council trading standards officers around the country have revealed alarming levels of methanol, a key ingredient used to make anti-freeze, which could potentially lead to blindness or death.

Other industrial chemicals like isopropanol, used in cleaning fluids, and chloroform, used in pesticides, have also been found in bogus brands.

This month, Southampton City Council’s Trading Standards team seized 124 bottles of fake vodka and wine from a local newsagent. The haul included 35 Jacobs Creek wine bottles with incorrect spellings of Australia and 45 bottles of Arctic Ice vodka, a brand that was found to be made-up.

Recently a shopkeeper was fined £16,000 after Surrey County Council Trading Standards seized fake Glen’s vodka which, when tested, contained 235 times more methanol than the legal limit. Just five teaspoons of methanol can be fatal.

While in Staffordshire, trading standards officers acted after people reported suffering from burning throats after drinking vodka that was later found to contain methanol. A recent crackdown has found suspected counterfeit alcohol in more than one in six (18 per cent) of off-licenses in the county.

The LGA is now calling for the introduction of a broad package of measures which would give local areas the flexibility to address problems that are particular to them through licensing powers and the new public health role for councils.

This includes ensuring the bureaucracy in the licensing system is reduced to allow local authorities to act more quickly on the concerns of people in their local area. This would include being able to refuse permission for a new night club or bar on a street that already has a proliferation of them.

In addition, health experts should be given a say on whether the opening of a corner shop selling cheap booze could contribute to alcohol dependency in a particular area.

The LGA has also called for late-night pubs and nightclubs to contribute towards the cost of cleaning up the mess caused by rowdy alcohol-fuelled nights out through a late-night levy, with the police and councils able to decide locally how to spend and share the money.

Responsibility for alcohol services moves from the NHS to local government from April 2013.