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Social Marketing in England 129

changes throughout its history to support the public to lead healthy lives. The
department’s overall purpose is to ensure better health and well-being, better
care, and better value for all. It is responsible for standards of health care in the
country, including the National Health Service (NHS), setting the strategic
framework for adult social care and influencing local authority spending on so-
cial care. It also sets the direction on promoting and protecting the public’s
health, taking the lead on issues like environmental hazards to health, infectious
diseases, health promotion and education, the safety of medicines, and ethical
issues.
Throughout its history, the department has evolved to make it better
equipped to lead the health and social care system. The most recent changes
to its structure took place in 2003, leading to a smaller department with six
ministers, 2,245 staff, and three executive agencies (Department of Health,
2009).
As a consequence of this restructuring, the Department of Health in
England devolved its spending decisions to the regional areas. The types of sub-
ject areas given priority by the Department of Health include smoking cessa-
tion, teenage pregnancy, child and adolescent mental health, substance misuse,
sexual health, falls prevention, physical activity, and obesity control
(Department of Health, 2009).

S O C I A L M A R KE TIN G IN EN GL A ND

In 2006, an independent national review of health-related campaigns, commis-
sioned by the Department of Health in England, highlighted the use of social mar-
keting to improve the impact and effectiveness of health promotion in England at
national, regional, and local levels.
To help develop skills and capacity in this area, the National Social Marketing
Centre (NSM Centre) was established in a strategic partnership between the
Department of Health in England and the National Consumer Council (re-
launched as Consumer Focus in October 2008). Part of this partnership saw the es-
tablishment of 10 learning demonstration projects. The learning demonstration
sites are positioned across England and address a range of health behavior issues,
from breastfeeding and healthy eating to smoking cessation and anti-social drink-
ing. The following case study is taken from one of the sites, one addressing school
meals in a deprived region in the country.