| Local Authorities Role1 #366853 Local leadership for public health are at the heart of the new public health system. Upper tier and unitary authorities have taken on new responsibilities to improve the health of their populations, backed by a ring-fenced grant and a specialist public health team, led by the director of public health. Upper tier authorities are supported in this by the existing expertise within district councils – around environmental health, for example. |
- Local authorities are embedding these new public health functions into all their activities, tailoring local solutions to local problems, and using all the levers at their disposal to improve health and reduce inequalities – to create a 21st century local public health system, based on localism, democratic accountability and evidence.
- The director of public health – the lead officer in the local authority for health, a statutory chief officer, a statutory member of the health and wellbeing board – and his or her team support local political leadership in improving health.
- The director of public health champions health across the whole of the authority’s business, promoting healthier lifestyles and scrutinising and challenging the NHS and other partners to promote better health and ensure threats to health are addressed.
- The directors of public health work to ensure a rigorous focus on local priorities and action across the life course to ensure a preventive approach is embedded in the local system, including by contributing to the preparation of joint strategic needs assessments and the development of joint health and wellbeing strategies within the framework of the national Public Health Outcomes Framework.
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