What have we done so far to implement health in all policies?
What does ‘Health and Sustainability in All We Do’ mean at Southampton City Council?
It is a strategic approach to policy and decision-making across council sectors that supports and enables teams to understand the impact of their work on people’s health and the city’s environmental sustainability. It also helps identify where decisions might have unequal effects on different people’s health and the steps that can be taken to reduce negative consequences and, where possible, maximise positive impacts.
It aims to:
- Improve the health of Southampton residents
- Reduce unfair differences in people’s health
- Realise Southampton’s aim of becoming a healthier, greener and more sustainable place to live, work and visit
The approach has been approved by the Southampton Health and Wellbeing Board and Full Council, and it is a priority in our Corporate Plan.
We hope these new resources will support teams to easily identify the health and sustainability implications of new policies, programmes and services, and further encourage the development of evidence-informed policy and decision-making. The resources will help staff complete the Equality and Safety Impact Assessments (ESIA) that are often required for council decision-making and good governance.
What difference has this made elsewhere?
This approach is being used in the council already. For example, colleagues in Strategic Planning and in Public Health collaborated to draft policies in the new Local Plan, to help create places that would support people living healthy and fulfilling lives.
In other local authorities, this type of approach to health and sustainability has been in place for many years and enabled different sectors and services to co-invest, collaborate and innovate towards shared goals and bring about improvements and efficiencies for all.
