Barnet's Health and Wellbeing Board has convened to address the concerning trend of stalled life expectancy and healthy life expectancy and persistent health inequalities across the borough. The meeting on Thursday, March 19, 2026, highlighted the critical need for continued efforts in promoting physical activity and ensuring equitable access to healthy food.

Councillor Alison Moore, Chair of the Health and Wellbeing Board and Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health, expressed concern over the stalled life expectancy trends, emphasizing the importance of initiatives like the Fit and Active Barnet programme. The board noted variations in life expectancy across the borough, underscoring the need to address health inequalities. The 'Fit and Active Barnet Framework and Action Plan' aims to create a more active and healthier borough through its three pillars: People, Place, and Partnerships. Specific outcomes include embedding dementia-friendly and mental health-supportive principles within leisure facilities and community settings, promoting active travel, and strengthening partnerships with National Governing Bodies of Sport and the grassroots club sector.

Diagram illustrating the pillars of the Barnet Food Plan: Healthy People, Healthy Places, and Healthy Planet, and their associated strategic areas.
Diagram illustrating the pillars of the Barnet Food Plan: Healthy People, Healthy Places, and Healthy Planet, and their associated strategic areas.

Achievements highlighted included over 58,000 residents signing up for the FAB Card, offering discounted access to leisure facilities. The Healthwise programme, delivered by leisure operator GLL, reported over 800 residents completing various health interventions, including weight management and falls prevention.

The Barnet Food Plan: Action Plan Update also took centre stage, with the board approving the Barnet Food Action Plan for 2026-2028. This refreshed plan builds on previous efforts to create a healthier, fairer, and more sustainable food environment. The plan aims to create a healthier, fairer and more sustainable food environment by increasing uptake of the Healthy Start scheme and focusing on income maximisation and financial resilience to combat food insecurity. It also aims to improve access to affordable, nutritious, and culturally appropriate food for all residents.

The Barnet Food Plan outlines key themes for 'Healthy People,' 'Healthy Places,' and 'Healthy Planet' to promote a sustainable food system.
The Barnet Food Plan outlines key themes for 'Healthy People,' 'Healthy Places,' and 'Healthy Planet' to promote a sustainable food system.

Key actions within the plan include improving school food standards, increasing uptake of the Healthy Start scheme, delivering the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme, focusing on income maximisation and financial resilience, and encouraging businesses to become London Living Wage employers. As part of the 'Barnet Food Plan: Action Plan Update', a key action is to Work with the Procurement team for the 2026 renewal of the school food contract to increase nutritional value and sustainability of food provided. This includes ensuring the contract has PH specification for healthier and sustainable food in schools, Whole-day food environment requirements (e.g. breakfast and after-school), a London Living Wage clause for catering staff and contractors, Water-only schools, Requirement for School Food Standards training for all catering staff, Sustainability accreditation requirement (e.g. Soil Association Food for Life silver or equivalent), Explicit reference to the National School Food Standards and Barnet Public Health's position statement, and a commitment to delivering the London Circular Food Purchasing Commitment (LCFPC). Additionally, All schools have at least one meatless day per week.

The 'Barnet Food Plan: Action Plan Update' mentions a 'Money Worries' campaign as part of initiatives to combat food insecurity by focusing on income maximisation and financial resilience. The campaign is intended to Promote income maximisation tools and resources through digital champions and VCSEs and to Help local businesses promote the Healthy Start scheme through the existing NHS communications toolkit.

The plan also aims to create healthier high streets by implementing policies on hot food takeaways and developing a 'Good Food Retail Plan', embedding food plan principles into neighbourhood health initiatives, improving the visibility and functionality of the Barnet Food Dashboard, and integrating food growing into planning and development. The board approved the finalisation and delivery of the Barnet Food Action Plan 2026–2028 and agreed to receive progress reporting for oversight and accountability.

A pie chart illustrating the status of actions within an implementation plan as of March 8, 2026, showing that 42 actions have progressed in line with the plan, while others are completed, delayed, not achieved, incorporated elsewhere, not started, or have no status provided.
A pie chart illustrating the status of actions within an implementation plan as of March 8, 2026, showing that 42 actions have progressed in line with the plan, while others are completed, delayed, not achieved, incorporated elsewhere, not started, or have no status provided.

Councillor Moore acknowledged the stalled life expectancy and healthy life expectancy trends, reinforcing the importance of programmes like Fit and Active Barnet.

The board also noted the forward work programme, which includes an update on the neighbourhood plan for the next meeting. The Chair concluded the formal part of the meeting by thanking members for their contributions, particularly those leaving due to changes in the Integrated Care Board.

Barnet Food Plan: Action Plan Update Fit and Active Barnet Framework and Action Plan HWBB Committee Report March 2026