Speaking in a debate on Childhood Obesity in Parliament in January, Dr Stoate reminded the House that “in the UK today, we buy 80% of our food in the main national supermarket chains. Those supermarkets are designed and located to cater for the affluent car-owning majority. If one does not have a car – and one in five of us do not – access to supermarkets, which are often in edge of town locations, is severely reduced.”

“A young mother with children in a pushchair, trying to carry home the weekly shop on the bus, finds it extremely difficult. Many people have to resort to taxis, which they can ill-afford, or else they have to shop in more expensive local shops that offer a narrower range of foodstuffs.”

“A basket of healthier food is also significantly more expensive than a basket of unhealthy food products and this ‘health premium ’is greater in supermarkets in low income areas. A survey carried out a while ago in a series of shops in a deprived part of London showed that a basket of healthy food is 41% more expensive than an equivalent basket of less healthy food. In a more affluent area of the same suburb however the same healthy basket was only 31% more expensive on average than the less healthy basket.”

“That obviously puts a huge strain on the budgets of families with limited incomes. It means that they are much more likely to choose foods that are less healthy for their children purely on the grounds of economics. We need to look hard at that to ensure that healthy, fresh produce is priced in a way that makes it accessible to members of society with less disposable income.”

“I should like the Government to look hard therefore at the idea of carrying out a ‘fresh food audit’ in the country’s more deprived wards, which would enable us to discover the extent of the availability of fresh food in these areas. If the number of stores selling affordable fresh food in each ward was found to be below a certain level, we should then consider giving tax breaks or direct subsidies to retailers who are prepared to offer a full range of affordable fresh produce.”