News

Joseph Rowntree Foundation

Cities, growth and poverty: How can economic growth in cities benefit people in poverty?

• Link to Article
• JRF and JRHT think our current welfare system doesn't work: but we are concerned about the impact of welfare changes on people living in poverty

Food city network unveiled

The Soil Association, Food Matters and Sustain have announced an ambitious new programme backed by £1 million in funding to tackle obesity, food poverty and climate change in the UK’s cities. The Sustainable Food Cities programme will benefit from the £1m cash pot and aims to “transform access to local, affordable and sustainable food for people across the country within 500 metres of where they live,” the organic food promotional body said in its announcement.

• Fresh Produce Journal
• Find out more about Sustainable Food Cities
• To read the press release click

News from Wales

Impact of Welfare Reform - A new report from Wales on the impact of welfare reform. More evidence for a disproportionate impact on women, the disabled and BME communities.

Smokefree Action Coalition

Standard Pack amendment You may have heard that an amendment has been tabled to the Children and Families Bill which would give the Government the power to introduce Standard Packaging for tobacco products. The Children and Families Bill is now in the House of Lords and the amendment has been tabled by a cross-party group of peers demonstrating the breadth of support for this measure. The amendment will be debated in the autumn. Over the summer we will definitely need your support in continuing to raise the issue with local politicians and any peers that have links to your area. We will be providing briefing materials and support over the coming weeks. The tobacco industry will mount a strong opposition and the public health community will, as ever, need to actively challenge the industry’s lobbying work and ensure that the evidence is heard. If you are interested in joining a group who might be called on to take more regular actions then please let me know.

• The full amendment is here

Major Report Launched: ‘A life course approach to promoting positive ageing’

The Beth Johnson Foundation launches a major report: ‘A life course approach to promoting positive ageing’ which significantly contributes to current debates on ageing and supporting our ageing populations. Based on the learning from our positive ageing work over the last ten or so years this report explores a model of working with individuals and communities that embeds ageing as a natural part of the life course and supports quality of life into later age.

• Please click here for more information and to download the report

Department for Education’s School Food Plan was launched on 12th July 2013.

• The document can be downloaded here
• An easy view film of the main points is available

Minimum unit pricing for alcohol will save lives

The Faculty of Public Health (FPH) is alarmed by reports that the government is intending to withdraw its plans to introduce minimum unit pricing for alcohol (MUP).

• Faculty Website

Duncan Selbie Video Public Health England

Link to a video on the role and functions of Public Health England

• Link to Video

N2PH public health thinking

N2PH public health thinking - The public health network in the North West of England have produced a video to tell this story. Using Three Horizon thinking, we can begin to understand the context of our work better and use innovation both to “keep the lights on” during this turbulent transition to a different world and to nurture the Third Horizon – an Equal Society, valuing everyone’s contribution, with multiple currencies in circulation, not just money. This is a massive culture shift, like oak trees, has to start small. Now the public health network in the North West of England have produced a video to tell this story. Using Three Horizon thinking, we can begin to understand the context of our work better and use innovation both to “keep the lights on” during this turbulent transition to a different world and to nurture the Third Horizon – an Equal Society, valuing everyone’s contribution, with multiple currencies in circulation, not just money. This is a massive culture shift, like oak trees, has to start small.

• Link to You tube video

Council’s Community Meals Pick up First Food for Life Award in the UK

South Lanarkshire Council are the first catering service in the UK to achieve the Food for Life Catering Mark for their community meals service.

Carbon bubble will plunge the world into another financial crisis

The world could be heading for a major economic crisis as stock markets inflate an investment bubble in fossil fuels to the tune of trillions of dollars, according to leading economists.

Belfast Healthy Cities hosts - Healthy Ageing summit

Senior policy representatives from the World Health Organization and European Union countries gathered in Belfast this week to explore public policy and the impact of an ageing population. Belfast Healthy Cities hosted the Healthy Ageing summit on Tuesday and Wednesday, which was followed with a lecture examining Ageing policy across Europe.

• Website link

No weighting for healthy sustainable local planning: evaluation of a participatory appraisal tool for rationality and inclusivity

This paper is concerned with the contribution that project, plan and policy appraisal can make to effective decision-making when shaping a built environment that needs to respond to the demands of local voices and also concerns for global sustainability and for population well-being. It argues that effectiveness depends on appraisal processes being both rational, based on sound science, and also inclusive, involving stakeholders and implementers. A particular problem in both respects is the widespread reliance of decision makers on methods that use weighting.

• Link to paper

Housing with Care Matters

October edition of Housing with Care Matters, the newsletter from the Housing Learning and Improvement Network (LIN).

• Housing with Care Matters

Health Impact Assesment in Practice

Welcome to Health Impact Assessment in Practice - the eLearning Course

• Link to website

No smoking in Chichester play parks please

SIGNS are being put up in play parks asking visitors not to smoke where children are playing.

• Link to Article

Department of Health consultation on local authority health scrutiny

Proposals to update local accountability have been put forward as part of a consultation launched today on regulations governing local authority health scrutiny.

UK Healthy Cities Network Snippets July 2012

PDF version of the Snippets

• UK Healthy Cities Network Snippets July 2012

New Deal for health promotion call to world congress

EuroHealthNet Director Clive Needle has called for a “New Deal for Health Promotion for Europe by 2020”.

• Press Release

Sustainable Ventures in Public Health

The economic benefits of green infrastructure in the North West of England - Supporting and promoting investment in green space is likely to have a range of far-reaching benefits for the local economy and public health.

• Link to report

Wales What a Great Place to Age - Supporting Wales and Europe to meet the challenge

Since 2003, Welsh policy has recognised the challenge and opportunities of demographic change and is well placed on several fronts with numerous successes to date.

• Flyer

Mapping Resilience in Brighton & Hove

Reports of the Director of Public Health usually focus on local needs and seek to identify areas where these are not being met. The Brighton & Hove Annual Report of the Director of Public Health 2010 takes a quite different approach and focusses on community resilience, looking in detail at the public health vulnerabilities and assets that exist within Brighton & Hove, and suggesting how the assets might be employed to address some of the vulnerabilities.

'Preparing for an ageing society: is the built environment fit for the future?

The seminar was held as a contribution to the European Year of Active Ageing and to mark World Health Day’s theme of Ageing and Health (on April 7th).

Shaping Cities for Health: Complexity and the Planning of Urban Environments in the 21st Century

Launched in London, UK, May 30, 2012 Collaboration between The Lancet and University College London, UK, has resulted in the second UCL Lancet Commission report, Shaping Cities for Health.

• Link to website

Commission calls for city planners to consider health issues

BMJ 2012; 344 doi: 10.1136/bmj.e3784 (Published 30 May 2012) Cite this as: BMJ 2012;344:e3784 Jacqui Wise, London

• Link to Article

HPH - The International Network of Health Promoting Hospitals & Health Services

The International Network of Health Promoting Hospitals & Health Services is a "network of networks". In total, it consists of 38 National / Regional HPH Networks, collaborating to reorient health care towards active promotion of health.

UK Healthy Cities Network Annual Briefing 2011-12

Welcome to the UK Healthy Cities Network Annual Briefing 2011-12.

• UK Healthy Cities Network Annual Briefing 2011-12

Health Inequalities Magazine - Trends and Innovation in Health and Social Care

Health Equalities is a twice-yearly magazine which focuses on tackling health inequalities.

• Health Inequalities Magazine - Trends and Innovation in Health and Social Care

The Housing Learning and Improvement Network (LIN)

The Housing Learning and Improvement Network (LIN), formerly responsible for managing the Department of Health's (DH) Extra Care Housing capital programme, is the leading 'knowledge hub' for a growing network of housing, health and social care professionals in England involved in planning, commissioning, designing, funding, building and managing housing with care for older people.

• Link to Newsletter
• Link to website

What makes us healthy? The asset approach in practice: evidence, action, evaluation'

The follow-up to the hugely popular 'A glass half-full' has been published today and is available as a free download from What makes us healthy? The asset approach in practice: evidence, action, evaluation'* By Jane Foot, with a foreword by Professor Sir Michael Marmot and an introduction by Jane Foot and Trevor Hopkins

• Link to website

• What Makes us Healthy ?

Healthy lives, healthy people: Improving outcomes and supporting transparency – A public health outcomes framework for England 2013 - 2016

This update sets out the new Public Health Outcomes Framework.

• Link to document

Healthy Cities Annual Business Meeting Report

World Health Organistion (WHO) European Healthy Cities Network and Network of European National Healthy Cities Networks ‘Governance for Health at the local level: people, citizens and assets for health’ Report on the WHO business and technical conference Liège, Belgium 15th-18th June 2011.

• Healthy Cities Annual Busines Meeting Report

UK Healthy Cities Network - Launch Event Report

Report providing an overview of the formal launch of the UK Healthy Cities Network Launch Event held on the 6 December 2011.

• Launch Event Report

Travel Actively

The latest report from Travel Actively is now available to read online.

UK Healthy Cities Network Accredited by WHO Europe

The UK Healthy Cities Network attained accredited WHO status on 26 October 2011. The UK Network is now one of around 20 national networks accredited as members of the WHO Network of European National Healthy Cities Networks.

Membership Application Pack now available

If you are interested in joining the UK Healthy Cities Network, download the Membership Application Pack.

• Membership Application Pack