Webinar: In the face of financial strain, how can local government protect their communities’ health?
Wednesday 22 May 2024, 15.45–17.00
Wednesday 22 May 2024, 15.45-17.00
This webinar will explore how joint working across local councils can protect the services that support good health, in the context of a challenging financial landscape.
Hearing from colleagues at Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council and Oxfordshire County Council, we will discuss how public health colleagues have engaged other council decision makers to ensure health is considered in local policy, and look at how similar approaches could be adopted in other areas.
In recent years, many local authorities have had to cut back on some of the services and assets that people in their communities rely on, negatively impacting on health. To help reduce the impact on health and health inequalities, a joined-up approach is needed across each council to ensure services and people’s health are protected.
This webinar forms part of a range of work the Health Foundation are undertaking with local authorities to explore their role in helping to build healthier lives in the communities they serve.
This webinar is suitable for anyone working in local government who is interested in the health of their population. This might include councillors and officers working or interested in public health, directors of finance, and those working in relevant departments such as housing and transport as well as communities, neighbourhoods, and regeneration teams.
Speakers
Bio and photo coming soon
Bio and photo coming soon
Anna started as the Executive Director for Public Health and Communities at Barnsley Council in October 2023. Prior to that she was the Director of Public Health in Wakefield District where she worked for ten years. She also led the council’s participation programme ‘The Big Conversation’, which involves residents in decision making. Before training in public health Anna worked in a multi-purpose community centre doing everything from youth work to running a community café. She then worked for the NHS in Leeds as the link between the local authority, the VCS and the NHS. During her public heath consultant training she was in the West Yorkshire Police for 18 months working at a strategic level to address the needs to vulnerable adults in the criminal justice system. She has a national and regional lead role for the Association of Directors of Public Health on the health of asylum seekers and was the West Yorkshire ICB DPH lead for inclusion health. She is the lead DPH on the Minding the Gap programme, which supports elected members and other staff to reduce health inequalities. She currently lives in Leeds with her husband, three kids and a dog and is a slow runner, obsessive reader and an enthusiastic cook.
Chair
Gwen is a joint Assistant Director with her job-share partner Katherine Merrifield.
Gwen is an Assistant Director in the Healthy Lives team leading work to improve public health policy, systems and practice. Her work focuses on supporting the public health leadership system, influencing national, local and regional government to take joined up action to tackle the wider determinants of health and building insights into how to communicate health inequalities to the public.
Prior to joining the Health Foundation, Gwen had a twenty-year career in the Civil Service working on a range of social policy issues. With Katherine she led the drug and alcohol unit at the Home Office. She has also led work on childhood obesity policy, health system reform and supporting the third sector.
Gwen is also a Social Mobility Foundation Mentor providing support to young people to progress their studies and careers.
Further reading
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