Local Government’s contribution to the Public Health workforce

1. Local Government’s contribution to the Public Health workforce Fiona Bradley Policy Officer COSLA

2. COSLAwww.cosla.gov.uk The representative voice of Scottish local government The principles that underpin the work of COSLA are: • Promote local authority role and perspective to ensure service delivery remains with in the framework of local government • Protect against a centralising agenda • Work with national partner organisations including Scottish Executive and Scottish Parliament to promote a vibrant and positive local government agenda, delivery of shared agendas • Adding value through partnership to achieve sustainability • Work with member councils to ensure COSLA adds value, avoids replication and ensure the most effective outcomes for local government

3. Health Improvement and Health Inequalities: a Scottish local government perspective. A financial summary from this research demonstrated that in 2003 – 2004 local authorities spent: • £199.8m on badged HIHIE activities targeting health behaviour determinants • £238m on badged healthy lifestyle activities from core revenue allocations • £6562m on personal resources such as education and social work • £3894m on services targeting living and working conditions including environmental factors

4. Scottish local government contribution to the public health workforce In 2003/04 Local Authorities spent 78.9% of their total core revenue allocation on services and activities that have a potential impact on the wider determinants of health

5. Scottish Local Government contribution to the public health workforce The research shows that the types of activities explicitly ‘badged’ as health improvement or health inequalities activities are common across all councils. These activities generally fall into one of four broad categories: • Activities designed to impact on lifestyle or behaviour • Activities to address specific health topics • Activities aimed at particular groups within the community • Activities aimed at geographical areas or specific settings within the community

6. Scottish Local Government contribution to the public health workforce Unbadged health improvement activities: • TRANSPORT • PLANNING • ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH • COMMUNITY LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT • ARTS AND CULTURE • ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Which is backed up by the findings of the financial scoping exercise

7. Interagency agreement - Scottish local government perspective The agreement has the potential to • Be a vehicle for local government to highlight their contribution to the public health workforce • Ensure the ‘unbadged’ workforce are recognised and benefit from this recognition . • Mainstreaming the unbadged health improvement activities of local authorities by promoting the impact of both badged and unbadged activities • Provide support and capacity building through shared training opportunities for staff

8. Scottish local government perspective The Agreement will also contain an agreed definition of health improvement and health inequalities. Having the local government perspective recognised within this definition will: • reinforce local governments role as a health improvement organisation • assist the work of local authorities as Community Planning partners • Assist the work taken forward through Community Health Partnerships A formal definition will provide a a platform for the above and remove the dominance of the medical approach to health improvement.

9. Scottish Local Government perspective: There are many advantages for local government in signing up to the agreement • Enhance local government’s leadership role for health improvement • Reinforce the importance of local government’s contribution to the health improvement and health inequalities agenda • Aid planning and resourcing in relation to health improvement activities. In addition there are many joint agenda’s that this Agreement has the potential to impact on Efficient Government and Public Sector Reform