Health authorities will be encouraged to set their own targets to tackle local health problems, public health minister Tessa Jowell told the Journal this week.

Responding to criticism that the government's green paper contains only four targets, she said: 'There was a feeling that The Health of the Nation had become little more than ticking boxes, and that we needed to bear down on the major causes of illness and death,' said Ms Jowell.

'We have emphasised that there is scope for local targets, so that an area like West Sussex can look at osteoporosis or problems that affect older people, instead of putting effort into teenage pregnancy, which is not a problem in that area.'

Ms Jowell attended the first of a series of regional consultation events on the green paper, Our Healthier Nation, in Bristol on Monday. She revealed the government expected at least 300 healthy living centres to be established, with 'priority' given to deprived areas, and that they would include access to health information on the Internet.

See News Focus, page 12.