Agenda item

8.1

The Director of Public Health in relation to Due North: A Report of the Inquiry on Health Equity for the North. This was commissioned by Public Health England from the Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES) at the University of Liverpool, and written by a panel led by Professor Margaret Whitehead. The brief was to examine health inequalities in the North of England – both within the North and between the North and the rest of the country, to ‘provide fresh insight into policy and actions’.

8.2

The report made a very clear link with the need for economic development in the North and the need to invest in the development of people and places. Equally, the need for devolution and democratic renewal (to give local people more power over the conditions in which they live) was emphasised. There were recommendations for actions in the areas of tackling poverty, actions in early childhood, democratic renewal and strengthening the role of the health sector. Many, but not all of the recommendations were already being implemented in Sheffield and were included in the Health Inequalities Plan.

8.3

The Director of Public Health then gave a presentation on the report. He stated that the north of England generally did worse than the south in terms of life expectancy. However, Sheffield had one of the highest life expectancies in the North of England for those living in deprived areas.

8.4

Health inequalities were seen as a deep rooted issue and there was a concern that the gap could widen. Public Health England did not accept that the gaps were inevitable and couldn’t change.

8.5

It was important to look at the causes of health inequalities which was often a result of economic drivers. The north needed to examine what agencies could do to reduce inequalities.

8.6

The report outlined a number of recommendations, some of which the Board could play a role in implementing and some where work was already in place which would assist with implementation and some where it would require close working between agencies across the north.

8.7

The report did not mention a role for NHS England. Public Health England had issued an interim response and a more detailed response was expected in Spring 2015.

8.8

The Board commented on issues arising from the report and presentation, as follows:-

·      Recommendations for National Government and ‘Agencies in the North’ should not be considered as separate issues.  In many cases complementary action is needed from both sides.

·        Historical factors should be taken into consideration as it was not easy to change things in one generation.

·      The City was in a good position to work together to change if the system would allow. There needed to be a lot of freedom granted to try new solutions.

·      There could be a role for the Health and Wellbeing Board to play as advocates. Members could attend other Health and Wellbeing meetings across the north and Boards could collectively make representations nationally.

·      The north needed to be proactive and not wait for the Government to give permission. There was a need for further learning on how to attract investment and how to co-ordinate to generate investment.

·      The Sheffield City region did not do enough to promote the good work being undertaken in the region and this should be promoted on the national agenda. The key was to determine how to influence on the local as well as the national stage.

·      It would be more appropriate for Public Health England to respond in time to influence the next commissioning round rather than in the Spring. It may be a different allocation was needed which took into account health inequalities.

·        The proposition based approach was supported. There was a need to be bold and outline what could be done if the north and the City region had more control over resources and policy.

·        Political points could be made without being party political. Whenever a new policy was announced the region should outline the impact on Sheffield regardless of party politics.

·      The Health and Wellbeing Board should not just seek to influence policy matters specifically relating to health. Every decision made had an impact on the health and wellbeing of the City.

Resolved: that the Board:-

1. Requests that the Chief Executive, SCC and the Director of Public Health should discuss the report further, and in particular how best to bring it to the attention of the Sheffield Executive Board and the Local Enterprise Partnership; and

2. The Director of Public Health be requested to feed back to Public Health England the need for a more timely response to the report in line with the next commissioning round.