Decision details

The Assembly will receive a presentation on the LBBD Director of Public Health’s annual report for 2022/23.

The Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health Integration presented the LBBD Director of Public Health’s Annual Report for 2022/23, which informed local people about the health of their community as well as providing necessary information for decision-makers in local health services and authorities on health gaps and priorities that needed addressing.

The Cabinet Member encouraged her colleagues to read the Director of Public Health’s report in detail as it gave an excellent synopsis of the public health challenges faced in Barking and Dagenham.  The Annual Report covered the legacy period of Covid-19 and highlighted its lasting impacts in aspects such as life expectancy and healthy life expectancy determinants for Barking and Dagenham residents.  Other key messages within the Annual Report included:

·  That only 20% of a person’s health care affected / improved their health, with the other 80% determined by factors such as housing, employment and their local environment;

·  The need to exploit the opportunities within the Place-based Partnership and locality working to improve healthy life expectancy;

·  The need to deliver lifestyle services in a more outcome-based way;

·  Local residents were three times more likely to suffer an avoidable death than the 10 least deprived areas in England;

·  Plans to enhance the diagnosis of long-term health conditions, as 1 in 3 local residents had at least one long-term condition;

·  24% of Reception-age children were measured as being overweight.

·  Breaking down barriers that were causing health inequalities, especially amongst those groups who were considered to be ‘hard to reach’;

·  Understanding who and why people were presenting themselves and having better pathways for referral, to support the prevention and early intervention aims; and

·  The disparity between Public Health Grant funding received within Barking and Dagenham compared to other local authorities with similar levels of deprivation and need.

Following the presentation, points were raised regarding healthy eating and the lower nutritional value of many products due to ‘forced growing’, the financial and other support offered by the Council which had helped reduce residents’ anxiety and some of the other stark statistics within the report regarding deprivation and health levels amongst the local community.  The benefits of building new family homes with gardens, the need for new legislation to promote healthy eating and new active travel infrastructure and public realm improvements to encourage local residents to cycle and walk more were also highlighted as positive steps that would contribute to a healthier local community.

The Assembly resolved to note the Director of Public Health’s Annual Report for 2022/23, as set out at Appendix A to the report.

The Chair conveyed her appreciation to the Cabinet Member for Children’s Social Care and Disabilities, the Chair of the Health Scrutiny Committee and the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health Integration for their presentations to this evening’s meeting and their hard work and efforts.