Professor John Middleton, President, Faculty of Public Health, comments on the LGA’s sugar levy story

Prof John Middleton, President, UK Faculty of Public Health, said: "It’s worrying to hear that money ring-fenced to promote healthy eating and exercise in schools, may be used to plug the funding gap in education instead.

"Every day FPH members see people of all ages suffering with ill health as a direct result of a poor diet and a lack of exercise, contributing to the obesity epidemic. Unfortunately, local councils are stuck between a rock and a hard place with increasingly limited resources to do anything about it.

"To protect the health of future generations, the government must tackle the problem at its root by properly investing in teaching children how to lead a healthy lifestyle as well as – and not instead of – their education. In the long-term, this will boost the nation’s health and ease the strain on the NHS."