Towns to bid for health funding under new initiative

The UK government wants towns up and down the country to launch new health initiatives.

Minister for public health Dawn Primarolo has announced the new Healthy Communities Challenge Fund, which allows towns to bid for funding for new schemes.

Towns are entitled to maximum grants of £5 million to "improve the health of their inhabitants". Those which are successful in their bid for funding will be designated as a healthy town in an acknowledgement of their commitment.

Ben Bradshaw, health minister, said the he hoped to see "really innovative ideas" to help progress the public health levels.

"Tackling obesity is the most significant public and personal health challenge facing our society. The core of the problem is simple, we eat too much and we do too little exercise," he added.

The government recently announced a new policy to make swimming free for the nation's population in time for the 2012 Olympics.