Declaring a climate change emergency
Local authorities can play a key role in tackling climate change – and there is plenty for them to do. Never before has thinking globally and acting locally been more important, says Mark Whitehead.
Drug poisoning deaths up 16% in face of public health cuts
16/08/2019 Council chiefs warn that cuts to public health grants are a ‘false economy’ which make it more difficult to provide support and treatment to drug users. |
NHS Health Checks to be ‘modernised’, health secretary says
16/08/2019 Health secretary Matt Hancock has launched a review of NHS Health Checks with the aim of moving away from standardised checks towards more tailored programmes. |
Air pollution could be causing a third of child asthma cases, study warns
08/08/2019 Air pollution could be the cause of up to a third of new cases of childhood asthma in Europe, according to a new study. |
Dementia causes one in ten deaths, new figures show
07/08/2019 Dementia and Alzheimer's disease were the cause of more than a tenth of the registered deaths in England and Wales last year, according to new figures. |
Campaigners call for 'calorie tax' to tackle obesity
07/08/2019 Companies producing high-calorie foods should be taxed to help tackle the 'obesity crisis', campaigners have demanded. |
Calls for ugent investment in public playgrounds
05/08/2019 The decline in public playgrounds is ‘pushing’ children away from outdoor play, a new survey has revealed. |
Council leaders join call for fairer public health funding
01/08/2019 Local authorities have backed a call by Cancer Research for the new Government to increase public health funding. |
Councils report 'worrying rise' in body image drugs
29/07/2019 Council leaders have reported a ‘worrying’ increase in the number of people using illegal and dangerous body enhancing drugs. |
Prevention green paper blasted as ‘shopping list of half-complete ideas’
23/07/2019 Local authority leaders have criticised the Government’s prevention green paper as a ‘missed opportunity’ which neglects the role councils play in delivering public health services. |
Homeless people denied access to healthcare, study finds
17/07/2019 Homeless people are being denied access to basic healthcare, a new study has revealed. |
Parents urged to find time to take kids to the park
16/07/2019 Three-quarters of children would like to spend more time outdoors, according to a new survey published to coincide with Love Parks Week. |
Diabetes in children up 50% in five years
15/07/2019 Council chiefs have warned of an 'obesity crisis’ as figures reveal the number of young people being treated for Type 2 diabetes increased 50% in five years. |
Javid announces ‘public health duty’ to tackle violent crime
15/07/2019 Sajid Javid will this week announce a new legal duty which will require local authorities and other public bodies to prevent and tackle serious violence. |
For local authorities, the social care crisis is about more than money
02/07/2019 David Cundy explains why reducing demand for social care means supporting people to age well. |
Manchester’s rough sleeping scheme secures NHS funding
20/06/2019 NHS in Greater Manchester has agreed to allocate £1.5m to help tackle rough sleeping and homelessness across the region. |
Children exposed to toxic air inside schools, report warns
18/06/2019 The quality of air inside and outside primary schools must be improved to protect children's health, campaigners have demanded. |
Charities call for £1bn a year to reverse public health cuts
12/06/2019 Two health charities are calling on the Government to reverse the £1bn a year cuts to public health grants. |
Local authorities will continue to commission public health services
10/06/2019 Councils will continue to commission local public health services, a government review has concluded. |
Over half of the disease burden in England ‘preventable’
04/06/2019 Local authority leaders have welcomed a report which urges the Government to increase investment into initiatives supporting public health. |
Closure of public toilets ‘threat to health’, warns report
23/05/2019 The decline in public toilets is a threat to health, mobility, and equality, according to a public health body. |
‘Significant’ variations in rates of dental visits, study finds
17/05/2019 Children living in areas of deprivation are more likely to visit the dentist compared to those in more affluent areas, a new study has revealed. |
Call to ‘rethink’ public health investment
14/05/2019 A culture change is needed in the way local organisations evaluate long-term investment in prevention, a report has argued today. |
Councils urged to apply for funding to improve health of rough sleepers
10/05/2019 Councils are being urged to bid for a share of £1.9m to help support rough sleepers living with a mental illness or substance abuse problem. |
Prevention work for tackling obesity under threat from cuts, council chiefs say
09/05/2019 Early intervention by councils is ‘vital’ for dealing with obesity, council chiefs say as new figures reveal a 15% increase in hospital admissions where obesity was a factor. |
Charity calls for £2.4bn Dementia Fund
08/05/2019 A report calling for a new £2.4bn Dementia Fund has received backing from 68 cross-party MPs. |
Council chiefs call for ‘greater proportion’ of soft drinks levy
08/04/2019 Local authority leaders have called for a greater share of the soft drinks levy to go towards the public health budgets of councils. |
E-learning tools launched to ‘boost’ public health knowledge
08/04/2019 The Government has launched a series of e-learning tools to help boost health and care professionals’ knowledge of the biggest issues in public health. |
Councils to be part of ‘multi-agency initiative’ against knife crime
01/04/2019 Local authorities will be among the bodies involved in a multi-agency initiative against knife crime launched by home secretary Sajid Javid. |
Inactivity linked to 70,000 deaths a year
26/03/2019 Spending too much time sitting around is linked to about 70,000 deaths a year in the UK, according to public health experts. |
Health experts have revealed a big rise in the use of crack cocaine
26/03/2019 Public Health England says the number of adults starting treatment for crack addiction in the last three years has gone up by 19%. |
Tuberculosis at ‘lowest levels’ since records began
22/03/2019 New cases of TB in England have fallen to the lowest levels since records began in 1960, new data reveals. |
Health body announces £6m for alcohol treatments
22/03/2019 The Government today announced that £6m of capital funding will be made available to help councils increase access to alcohol treatments. |
Charity warns people at risk of suffering poverty, ill-health and hardship in later life
13/03/2019 Action must be taken to create communities that enable older people to stay active, campaigners have urged. |
Expansion of PrEP Impact Trial given the go-ahead
01/03/2019 Trials of the anti-HIV treatment PrEP are set to expand after local authorities agreed to commission extra places. |
Very few young people regularly vape, report finds
27/02/2019 Only a small proportion of young people are regularly using e-cigarettes, according to the findings of a new report. |
UK youth ‘let down’ on long-term health issues
20/02/2019 Youth in the UK are being ‘let down’ when it comes to treating long-term illnesses such as asthma, according to an independent health think tank. |
Health experts warn about impact of toxic air on children
06/02/2019 Nearly nine out of ten child health experts are warning air pollution is already having a negative impact on children's health in their region. |
Whitehall commits to reaching zero HIV transmissions by 2030
30/01/2019 Council chiefs have welcomed Whitehall’s announcement that it is committed to reaching zero HIV transmissions by 2030, but they urged the Government to reverse public health cuts ‘as a matter of urgency’. |
Councils chosen to develop childhood obesity plans
28/01/2019 Practical plans to tackle childhood obesity are to be developed by 13 councils after they received funding from the government’s Trailblazer programme. |
Investment in cycling could prevent 34,000 life-threatening illnesses, report finds
28/01/2019 Thousands of life-threatening illnesses could be prevented if major cities increased cycling rates to those seen in London since the turn of the millennium. |
Council chiefs welcome decision to expand PrEP trial
14/01/2019 Local authority leaders have said they are ‘pleased’ with NHS England’s decision to expand the trial of a drug that could ‘significantly’ reduce levels of HIV. |
NHS to fund council ‘drunk tanks’ over Christmas
21/12/2018 The NHS has announced it will be funding council ‘drunk tanks’ over the Christmas period to ease the pressure on local hospitals. |
Councils warn of impact of public health funding cuts
21/12/2018 Councils have reacted angrily to ‘short-sighted’ cuts to public health funding next year by the Government. |
Council call for action over number of operations to remove rotten teeth in children
03/12/2018 Council leaders have called for immediate action to tackle sugar consumption after new figures showed more than 45,000 teenagers and children had teeth extracted in hospital last year. |
Council chiefs call for funding to ‘step up’ fight against HIV
29/11/2018 Local authority leaders are urging the Government to reverse the £600m of cuts to public health grants to help them ‘step up’ the fight against HIV. |
Public health progress put at risk by cuts
27/11/2018 The Government must restore councils’ public health grants because of their important role in the urgent task of improving public health, according to a report from leading health think tank, The King’s Fund. |
'Sugar tax' raises more than £150m to fight child obesity
21/11/2018 Cash collected from the 'sugar tax' has already helped in the fight against childhood obesity, according to the Government. |
Councils urged to reduce smoking in social housing
20/11/2018 Councils have been urged to help drive down smoking rates after research revealed smoking is twice as common in social housing than in other tenures. |
Universal Credit bad for people's health - academics
15/11/2018 Universal Credit (UC) is bad for health and wellbeing, academics have found in a new study commissioned by Gateshead MBC. |
One in 10 deprived areas ‘food deserts’, think tank says
15/10/2018 Nearly one in 10 deprived areas in England and Wales do not have easy access to healthy, affordable food products, new study shows. |
Javid announces £200m to tackle youth violence
03/10/2018 Local government leaders have welcomed the announcement of a new fund to tackle violent crime — but renewed calls to reverse cuts in public health budgets. |
Council chiefs call for reversal of cuts to sexual health services
01/10/2018 Maintaining sexual health services at current levels will be difficult unless cuts in public health services are reversed, local government leaders warn. |
One person every 80 seconds stopped smoking last year
20/09/2018 More than a million people have stopped smoking in England since 2014, new figures have revealed. |
UK plagued by ‘stubborn’ health inequalities
11/09/2018 A report looking at the state of the nation’s health has revealed that the rich live nearly 20 more years than the poor on average. |
Council to review vaping scheme after exploitation accusation
10/09/2018 A deal between Birmingham City Council and a multi-national tobacco company to promote e-cigarettes has been branded 'a disgrace' by a government minister. |
Half of households unable to afford a healthy diet, finds study
05/09/2018 Around 3.7 million children are living in households unable to afford a healthy diet, according to a new study by a think tank. |
HIV diagnoses fall second year in a row
04/09/2018 HIV diagnoses in the UK have fallen for the second year in a row, public health body reveals. |
Greater Manchester unveils plan to fight HIV
29/08/2018 The mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, has unveiled a plan to end all new cases of HIV in the city region within 25 years. |
Council agrees to re-evaluate health service procurement process
15/08/2018 Lancashire County Council has agreed to re-evaluate its tendering process for public health services after a court ordered the council to set aside its agreement with Virgin Care. |
Hepatitis C-related deaths fall by 11%
08/08/2018 Deaths from hepatitis C-related end-stage liver disease have fallen by 11% in 2017 compared to the previous year. |
Campaigners warn about postcode lottery for breastfeeding support
30/07/2018 Breastfeeding campaigners have warned mothers are facing a postcode lottery after research found 44% of councils have reduced or closed down their local support services. |
Councils warned to prepare for a trebling of heat-related deaths
26/07/2018 Local authorities have been told to prepare their areas for the impact of climate change as experts predict heat-related deaths will treble by 2050. |
Nowhere to play?
17/07/2018 New research from the Association of Play Industries has revealed the scale of decline in playgrounds across England. LGN finds out more. |
LED street lighting and public health
09/07/2018 The Institution of Lighting Professionals explains why LED street lighting does not pose a risk to public health when specified and installed correctly. |
Poorest communities are ‘fast food hotspots’
29/06/2018 The most deprived areas in England have five times more fast food outlets than more affluent communities, new figures have revealed. |
Hunt outlines plan to halve childhood obesity by 2030
25/06/2018 Supermarkets will be prevented from displaying unhealthy foods and sweets at their checkouts in a crackdown being considered by health secretary Jeremy Hunt. |
Judge blocks Virgin Care's council contract win
22/06/2018 Lancashire CC’s award of a contract to Virgin Care has been blocked by a legal challenge. |
Dementia added to NHS Health Check programme
18/06/2018 Healthcare professionals in GP surgeries will soon be able to offer advice on how patients can reduce their dementia risk, Whitehall says. |
Loneliness prevention initiatives can save councils £2m, council chiefs say
11/06/2018 National health policy needs to recognise the ‘cost-effective benefits’ of initiatives designed to tackle loneliness, local government leaders say. |
Car pollution costs health services £6bn a year, study reveals
06/06/2018 Pollution from cars and vans costs £6bn per year in ‘health damages’, new research has revealed. |
Council chiefs warn health budget cuts ‘undermining’ fight against STIs
05/06/2018 Cuts to public health budgets have made tackling sexually transmitted infections a ‘significant challenge’, warn local authority leaders. |
Local government leaders warn of ‘toxic’ skin creams
29/05/2018 Council chiefs have warned against buying ‘suspiciously cheap’ skin creams because of a possible cancer risk. |
Cross-party MPs call for national obesity strategy
15/05/2018 A national obesity strategy would help strengthen existing services and replicate best practice across the country, according to a new report. |
Nurse shortage leads to increase in sexually transmitted infections
14/05/2018 Nurses have warned cuts to public health budgets are forcing them to turn people away from sexual health clinics due to the resulting staff shortages. |
Barnsley to become ‘sugar-free town’
02/05/2018 Barnsley Council is developing a food plan aimed at creating a ‘sugar-free town’ as part of the struggle against obesity. |
Nine out of ten councils forced to cut health services, study reveals
02/05/2018 Nine out of 10 councils have cut spending on public health services in response to Government reductions to their budgets. |
Increase in drug-related deaths linked to health cuts
27/04/2018 Whitehall should reverse its cuts to local authority public health grants in order to tackle the increase in drug-related deaths, doctors say. |
Council denies street lights cause cancer
10/04/2018 Gateshead Council has been forced to hit back at a conspiracy theory which claims it is carrying out secret Government trials using its street lights. |
Over 140 children a day are having teeth removed, health body finds
06/04/2018 A child in England has a tooth removed in hospital every 10 minutes due to preventable tooth decay, public health body says. |
Well-maintained footpaths can promote walking, health body says
23/03/2018 Local authorities should improve the quality of footpaths to encourage people to be more active, public health body says. |
Council leaders call for ‘traffic light’ food labelling to fight salt consumption
13/03/2018 Local authority chiefs have repeated their calls for the ‘traffic light’ food labelling system to become a legal requirement post-Brexit as health campaigners warn of the high salt content of ready meals. |
Government invests £300m to address ageing society challenge
12/03/2018 The Government is investing £300m from its industrial strategy challenge fund to help prepare for 'the challenge of an ageing society'. |
Getting physical
27/02/2018 Andy Howell explains how active healthier lifestyles are being driven by urban renewal in Slough. |
Diabetes cases in the UK double in 20 years
27/02/2018 The number of people living with diabetes in the UK has more than doubled over the last 20 years, new research has revealed today. |
£10m for Welsh councils to manage social care pressures
14/02/2018 Councils in Wales will be given £10m to manage social care winter pressures, the Welsh Government has confirmed. |
Third of dementia sufferers do not have care plan, charity warns
13/02/2018 One in three patients suffering from dementia do not get the NHS follow up support they’re supposed to because of a lack of care plan, older persons charity finds. |
Traffic light labelling on food should be ‘mandatory’, councils say
12/02/2018 Traffic light labelling on food and drink should become mandatory after Brexit in order to help fight obesity, council chiefs say. |
Latest figures show many young women at risk from FGM
06/02/2018 Seven out of ten newly recorded cases of FGM are women aged 35 or younger, new analysis has revealed today. |
Liverpool to measure alcohol consumption in donuts
05/02/2018 Public health officials in Liverpool are abandoning the use of alcohol units in their struggle against heavy drinking and are instead now talking about calories. |
Just one cigarette a day increases risk of heart disease and stroke
25/01/2018 Councils have called for a reversal of public health cuts after research highlighted the danger of people smoking just one cigarette a day. |
Think tank calls for 1% levy on gambling industry to help treat addictions
24/01/2018 Funding to help problem gamblers is three times less than funding to treat alcohol or drug abuse, a think tank has highlighted. |
Malnutrition among older people set to cost care sector £15bn, MPs warn
22/01/2018 A cross-party group of MPs have called on the Government to tackle malnutrition in the elderly to save the NHS and social care over £15bn a year. |
Councils spend £4m on 'pauper's funerals' in 2015/16
17/01/2018 Local authorities spent £4m on public health funerals in 2015/16 - an increase of 36% over the past five years - new research has revealed. |
Figures show 170 children have rotten teeth removed in hospital every day
15/01/2018 Local authorities call for action to tackle ‘excessive consumption’ of sugary food and drink as new figures reveal there are 170 operations a day to remove rotten teeth in children. |
Public health cuts undermine support for smokers
15/01/2018 Cuts in public health grants have led to a ‘dramatic’ change in local services aimed at helping people quit smoking, according to anti-smoking campaigners. |
NHS England launches healthy living framework for house builders
03/01/2018 Housing associations and developers are being invited to join a national network to help put healthy living at the heart of future home building. |
LGA attacks 'counter-productive' cut
21/12/2017 A cut to councils’ public health grants has been criticised by the Local Government Association (LGA) for being ‘short-sighted and extremely counter-productive’. |
Number of health visitors 'approaching an all-time low'
17/11/2017 Health visitors have called on the Government to reverse spending cuts which it says are having an 'alarming' impact on children and babies. |
'Landmark' health and social care devolution deal agreed for London
15/11/2017 National and local leaders have signed a ‘landmark’ devolution deal for health and social care in London. |
Majority of people with diabetes suffering from mental or emotional problems
14/11/2017 Nearly two thirds of people with diabetes experience emotional or mental health problems because of their condition, according to new research. |
The June issue of Local Government News contains the full details of all the winning schemes in the 2019 Street Design Awards. From Children's Play to Pedestrian Environment, find out who has been recognised for their innovation and use of best practice.
This issue also explores how local government pension funds can hedge currency risk, how councils can best address the shortfall in school places, and an update on the number of authorities banning the use of Roundup over safety fears.
