Council votes against motion to tackle malnutrition

Foodbanks in Norfolk said they had seen a rise in the number of people needing help

A council has rejected calls by opposition politicians to recognise malnutrition as a "serious public health issue".

The Labour group at Norfolk County Council (NCC) lost its motion calling for the council to provide more financial support for community groups that feed people in poverty.

Norfolk and Waveney has been identified as having one of the highest malnutrition rates in the country.

Bill Borrett, a Conservative councillor and cabinet member for public health and wellbeing, claimed the motion contained data that was "based on estimates and not actual facts".

He said malnutrition was often linked to illnesses such as cancer.

"Even though it is true that Norfolk does have an older population than elsewhere in the country, the malnutrition rates are lower than average and far lower than what would be expected for our population," he added.

"If anything, certainly with children, we have a bigger issue with obesity than malnutrition."

In October, a report published by Future Health suggested one in 15 people in Norfolk and Waveney were affected by malnutrition.

Labour tabled a motion at full council on Tuesday, which was voted against, that called for malnutrition to be measured as an indicator of the council's performance.

The group's deputy group leader, Mike Smith-Clare, said: "We're seeing an incredible increase in people suffering from illnesses, in many cases, that you would have expected to have died out 100, 200 years ago.

"If you look at young people, for example, if a child is going to school [and] they're malnourished, they're not going to succeed in education; that means they're not going to have the best opportunity to succeed in life."

The Conservative-led council said it was investing more than £45m in public health grants to help people "live the healthiest lives they can".