Last week, I met with Elaine Wyllie, the (now former) head teacher who was the founder of The Daily Mile.

The aim of The Daily Mile is to improve the physical, social, emotional and mental health and wellbeing of our children -; regardless of age, ability or personal circumstances.

It is a profoundly simple but effective concept, which any primary or nursery school can implement completely free of charge and without the need for staff training. Its impact can be transformational -; improving not only the children’s fitness, but also their concentration levels, mood, behaviour and general wellbeing.

The Daily Mile is a social activity, wherein the children run or jog -; at their own pace -; in the fresh air with friends. Children can occasionally walk to catch their breath, if necessary, but should aim to run or jog for the full 15 minutes.

Research has shown that The Daily Mile can even increase attainment in primary school, and parents have reported an increased interest in health and wellbeing from their children after they have started The Daily Mile.

Last month, I met with the city’s Cabinet Member for Public Health, Councillor Hazel Malcolm. We discussed the challenge for the city where unfortunately and sadly the child obesity problem is often worse in the lowest income wards. In my constituency, Bilston East, 46% of Year 6 pupils are overweight, this has been highlighted as a city obesity hotspot. We need drastic change in this area and others and I wholly believe that, amongst other things, The Daily Mile UK is a good place to start.

I am working together with the City Council to try and tackle some of these issues in the city and an initiative that I’m keen to see grow in my constituency is The Daily Mile UK.