Public health
Give councils the powers, funding and tools they need to deliver
James Jamieson has a message for Boris Johnson: Give us the powers, freedoms, flexibilities and funding and we will deliver your post-Brexit vision that transforms this country for the better.
Starting early to tackle obesity
Jonathan Gribbin outlines how Nottinghamshire CC will use its inclusion in the Childhood Obesity Trailblazer programme to help the very youngest children develop healthy eating patterns before they start school.
What price timidity?
The prevention Green Paper partly tips the scales towards a fairer and more productive country, but also falls short in crucial areas, says president of the Association of Directors of Public Health, Dr Jeanelle de Gruchy.
Prevention Green Paper blasted as ‘shopping list of half-complete ideas’
Local authority leaders have criticised the Government’s prevention Green Paper as a ‘missed opportunity’ that neglects the role councils play in delivering public health services.
Javid announces public health duty to tackle violent crime
Home secretary Sajid Javid has announced a new legal duty that will require local authorities to prevent and tackle serious violence.
Councils to get £300,000 for obesity pilots
The Government has decided to award five local authorities £300,000 each to trial programmes to tackle childhood obesity.
Knowing when to ‘nudge’
Jim McManus outlines how to navigate ‘that nudge thing’ – behavioural economics, insights and science to apply the right solution and avoid wasting time and money
Spending Review poses 'challenge' for fair funding
A minister has said a one-year settlement for local government would pose a ‘challenge’ for implementing the fair funding review in 2020/21.
The sound of silence
The history of attempts to achieve joined-up health and social care reads like a bad songbook for people of a certain age, says Martin Farrow.
West Sussex's sugar reduction success
West Sussex CC has managed to cut the amount of sugar used in school dinners by almost 75% in four years, in collaboration with its main meals provider Chartwells, says Anna Raleigh
Keep making the investment case for prevention
John O'Brien says that whether we end up with a one year Spending Review or a longer one, it's important to make the wider investment case for preventative services programmes such as Troubled Families.
Prevention is better than cure
CIPFA and Public Health England have developed a framework for measuring and evaluating preventative interventions. Rob Whiteman says it takes a holistic view, using cost-benefit analysis to encourage long-term thinking and sustainability.
Integration offers chance to invest in prevention
A new approach to investing in prevention can be achieved through the integration of health and care systems, according to a report.
Investment in children's centres helps deliver real results
Leeds has become the first UK city to lower its childhood obesity rate - and the role played by children's centres vindicates the council's decision to protect funding despite heavy cuts to overall grant funding, says Judith Blake.
London boroughs PrEP for impact
Cllr Ray Puddifoot is proud of the London local government decision to boost HIV prevention by providing a further 4,000 places on the PrEP impact trial – but he says the Government and the NHS must confirm arrangements for future funding.
Checking up on the power of prevention
Jim McManus outlines how to assess if prevention is working – and says it is crucial to define what you want to achieve and to set up the project so you can measure if it’s doing what it is supposed to
Halting knife crime is a multi-agency endeavour
Rachel Dickinson says much greater investment is needed in children and young people if we are to make a difference to levels of knife crime - and treating serious youth violence as a public health issue makes absolute sense.
Don’t play the hokey-cokey with health
Local government has turned public health around despite funding cuts. Now it not the time to think about returning the service to the NHS, argues Nathan Elvery.
If empowered, councils can achieve much more on public health
Rather than seeking to downgrade the role of public health within local authorities we should be seeking to enhance it, says Nathan Elvery.
Wales launches 'resident-focused' council tax reforms
Council tax debtors in Wales will no longer be at risk of imprisonment as part of a new initiative to encourage councils to take a more ‘resident-focused’ approach to debt.