Why local government matters
When the Government published its new National Cancer Plan for England – with its ambition that, by 2035, three in four people diagnosed with the illness will be cancer-free or living well five years after diagnosis – some observers questioned what this has to do with local government.
The question is understandable, yet it highlights a continuing need to explain how profoundly cancer risk, early diagnosis, treatment outcomes and survivorship are shaped by the environments people live in and the local systems that support them.
For those working in public health, the connection is obvious: councils influence many of the social, economic and environmental factors that determine cancer outcomes.
The plan itself is ambitious.
It commits to faster diagnosis, quicker treatment and major investment in technology, digital tools and improved diagnostic capacity.
It aims to meet all cancer waiting time standards by 2029 and projects that 320,000 more lives will be saved over the lifetime of the plan.
These ambitions rely not only on clinical excellence but also on reaching people earlier, improving prevention and reducing barriers to care.
This is exactly where local government comes in. The plan highlights prevention, early diagnosis and addressing risk factors such as smoking, alcohol and obesity. These are core public health duties delivered locally.
Councils shape healthy environments, provide stop smoking services, oversee licensing, run physical activity programmes and work with communities who face the greatest barriers to health.
It is also essential to recognise that not every cancer is preventable. When treatment is complex and prevention plays a smaller part, the need for strong social care, community support and well-coordinated local services becomes even greater.
Councils help people navigate daily life during intensive treatment and access practical help that the clinical system alone cannot provide.
Many people living with and beyond cancer draw on social care at various stages, whether to remain independent at home, manage the consequences of intensive treatment or receive support at the end of life.
The National Cancer Plan also emphasises the need for innovation, technology and digital tools to reach every community, including those with the poorest outcomes.
Again, councils are critical partners. They are often the organisations with the deepest knowledge of local populations, trusted relationships with community leaders, and the capacity to design prevention programmes that reflect real lived experience.
Local government also has a unique responsibility as the voice of the unheard.
Councils work closely with communities who can be overlooked in national policy conversations, and hear from groups facing barriers to treatment and from those communities whose outcomes are poorer because of their ethnicity or cultural background.
They are often the only organisations with the legitimacy, relationships into the voluntary and community organisations, and local intelligence to challenge these inequities and advocate for those who would otherwise be excluded.
It is not possible to deliver on the ambitions of the National Cancer Plan without councils. They are the connectors between clinical advances and the communities that must benefit from them.
They drive prevention, support early diagnosis, and provide the conditions for healthy living. Far from being peripheral, local government is foundational to improving cancer outcomes.
- For the LGA’s full response, see our statement on the National Cancer Plan for England.