New public health guidance for councillors
Public health has a long and well-established history in local government.
Councils have, for many decades, played a central role in shaping the social, economic and environmental conditions that influence health, from housing and sanitation to education, planning and community services.
While the organisation of public health functions has changed over time, local government has consistently been a key part of the public health system.
Since 1 April 2013, councils have held statutory responsibility for improving the health of their local populations. That responsibility remains a core function of local government, and continues to be central to efforts to improve health outcomes and reduce health inequalities.
The Government’s 10 Year Health Plan for England, published in July 2025, sets out an agenda structured around three shifts: from hospital to community, from treatment to prevention, and from analogue to digital.
Local government has a role across all three areas, particularly through its responsibilities for prevention, early intervention and place-based services delivered in homes, schools, workplaces and communities.
This role is further reflected in the Neighbourhood Health Framework, published in March 2026, which sets out expectations for neighbourhood-level working across the health and care system in England.
From 2027/28, health and wellbeing boards are identified as having a central role in local neighbourhood health plans, building on their statutory function to bring together partners around shared priorities for population health and wellbeing.
At the same time, the national health system is undergoing significant structural change. NHS England is being abolished, integrated care boards are being reduced in number and scale, and integrated care partnerships are being wound down.
In this context, it is important that local government is clear about its statutory responsibilities and how these relate to the evolving NHS landscape. Consequently, the LGA has recently published a new ‘Councillors’ guide to local authority public health responsibilities’.
Councillors have a leadership role in shaping local approaches to health and wellbeing, and the guide is intended to support them by setting out what councils are legally required to do, the funding arrangements that apply, and how national policy frameworks interact with local decision-making.
It has been updated to reflect the 2026/27 public health grant settlement, the consolidation of drug, alcohol and smoking cessation funding streams, and – as referenced above – the Government’s 10 Year Health Plan, Neighbourhood Health Framework and NHS restructuring programme.
But while statutory public health functions are important, they represent only a fraction of the impact local government has on health.
The great majority of what determines health – housing quality, employment, education, the built environment, community life, air quality, safety – is directly shaped by decisions councils make every day across all their services.
Under a section on councils as leaders for population health, the guide looks at the ‘Health in All Policies’ approach, which embeds consideration of health and wellbeing impacts into decision-making across all council functions.
The LGA offers Health in All Policies workshops and support for councils wishing to strengthen this approach, as well as a wider public health and prevention improvement offer – funded by the Department of Health and Social Care – which is based on sector-led principles.
- To discuss improvement support and any aspect of the LGA’s public health offer, please email publichealth@local.gov.uk. The guide for councillors can be read in full at the LGA website.