Driving progress on public health
The LGA has reiterated its clear call for a national health inequalities strategy rooted in prevention and joint local-national leadership.
LGA Chair Cllr Louise Gittins, speaking at the joint LGA and Association of Directors of Public Health’s (ADPH’s) annual public health conference in earlier April, said: “We must create a society where all residents, regardless of their background or postcode, can thrive and live healthy lives.”
The conference, billed as ‘A call to action for a fairer future’, brought together nearly 1,300 delegates in its largest virtual gathering to date.
Panellists and participants came together to share insights on public health practice, exploring how to tackle the inequalities facing our communities.
For the first time, the conference hosted a virtual Innovation Zone, sponsored by the National Institute for Health and Care Research.
Keynote speaker Professor Sir Michael Marmot reminded delegates why this work matters, stating that addressing inequalities is not just a moral imperative, but also essential for “the economy, sustainability and the future of society”.
He praised the “real political will to make a difference” shown by local leaders across the country.
Across three days, the conference spanned a wide range of vital topics, from tackling teenage pregnancy and understanding urban health, to devolution and addressing alcohol harm.
A standout moment was hearing from two brilliant young people, Arshan and Jordan, both Young Trainers with the charity Association for Young People’s Health. They shared powerful personal stories about health inequalities, underscoring the need for policies shaped with young people, not just for them.
The closing plenary, ‘Shaping the future of public health’, chaired by Cllr David Fothergill, Chairman of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board, brought together a dynamic panel: Greg Fell, President of the ADPH; William Roberts, Chief Executive of the Royal Society for Public Health; Professor Tracy Daszkiewicz, Vice-President of the Faculty of Public Health; and Siva Anandaciva, Director of Policy at The King’s Fund.
Their discussion captured how to future-proof public health and deliver real impact amid system and global challenges. When asked about measuring return on investment, Mr Fell pointed out the challenge of visibility: “Public health can often be a tough sell. People have short attention spans and aren’t interested in something that might happen in 20 years.
“We need to show how public health makes immediate impacts.”
The panel called for a broader approach to evidence, moving beyond easily quantifiable metrics to long-term, transformative outcomes.
The future workforce was another key theme.
Professor Daszkiewicz stressed the importance of nurturing public health professionals who understand their purpose and are equipped to work across sectors: “We need to create an environment that allows people to realise their passion.”
There was also a refreshing focus on public health success stories.
Mr Roberts celebrated the ‘greatest hits’ of public health – from reductions in teenage pregnancy to water fluoridation and cleaner air. He encouraged leaders to build on proven approaches, rather than reinventing the wheel.
The message was clear: public health needs to be central to decision-making. The onus is now on us to translate these insights into consistent, collaborative efforts, and to champion bold leadership that drives genuine progress for our communities.
Food, diet and obesity
Obesity continues to be a key public health challenge for councils and wider public finances.
It is estimated that the NHS spends £6.5 billion on obesity-related health care each year, while the cost to wider society is estimated to be £27 billion a year.
Councils have spent more than £1 billion tackling child and adult obesity since responsibility for public health transferred to them in 2013, against a backdrop of public health grant reductions (up until the current 2025/26 financial year, which has seen a 3 per cent real-terms grant increase).
The LGA, as part of its ongoing influencing and lobbying work, briefed Peers ahead of a Lords’ debate last month on food, diet and obesity, highlighting government policies that have had an impact and promoting additional measures that would support councils’ work on tackling these issues.
For example, the briefing highlighted the success of the soft-drinks industry levy, introduced in 2018, which may have reduced the number of under-18s having a tooth removed because of tooth decay by 12 per cent and saved more than 5,500 hospital admissions.
However, it said it was disappointing that the proceeds from the levy – which were earmarked as new money to invest in children’s sports and healthy eating programmes – have since been diverted to address gaps in existing departmental funding.
The briefing highlighted other policy tools for preventing obesity that would support the work of councils, including: updating the Licensing Act to include a public health objective and allow councils to take action where premises fail to protect the health of their communities; and expanding the Healthy Start scheme to include all those on Universal Credit with young children aged up to five years old.
Councils also need new powers and funding to support more children and families to live healthier lives, including: tackling the clustering of existing takeaways and restricting junk food advertising near schools; and having more say on how the sugar-industry levy is spent.
Ill-health prevention
Lead members have a vital role to play in driving whole-system change – ensuring ill-health prevention is embedded in all council functions, and promoting collaboration with partners in the NHS, the wider public sector, the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector, and the business sector.
They are well placed to be local health champions, engaging with communities to hear their priorities, and supporting them to take an active role in prevention.
Given severely constrained resources and growing need, approaches to prevention should, as far as possible, be based on evidence, consider return on investment and be ambitious – embracing transformation rather than sticking with ‘business as usual’.
Adopting a ‘health in all policies’ approach provides a useful framework to support whole-system working across all sectors and with all partners.
The LGA’s ‘Making the case for prevention: a must know for councillors’, sets out why prevention is important, examines the determinants of health and health inequalities (many of which, such as housing, fall under the remit of councils), gives examples of preventative measures and barriers to prevention, and sets out how to make the case for investment and a strategic shift to prevention.
- Find out more about the LGA’s work on public health.
- Read the LGA’s parliamentary briefing on food, diet and obesity in full on our website.
- See ‘Making the case for prevention: a must know for councillors’.