Tackling inequalities requires leadership and investment
As we mark 10 years since local authorities first took on responsibility for children’s public health, I feel a sense of pride in the work our councils have done to tackle health inequalities among children, alongside a strong sense of urgency.
Over that decade, councils have embraced their responsibilities and made enormous strides in leading the way on tackling health inequalities.
Since 2015, despite real-term cuts of £858 million to the public health grant, we have continued to deliver the core services that matter most for our children – those of health visiting, school nursing and tailored community programmes supporting the youngest and some of the most vulnerable in society.
Yet the latest data tells a troubling story: that 10.5 per cent of children in reception classes are now living with obesity, the highest rate since the National Child Measurement Programme began in 2006.
We have seen a modest decline in Year 6 obesity, post-pandemic, which is absolutely something to be celebrated. But overall levels, especially of overweight children, remain alarmingly high.
These are not just numbers, they are real children, and they are an early warning sign. When children begin life at an unhealthy weight, the risk of poor long-term health rises.
What’s even more concerning is the scale of inequality, with children growing up in our most deprived communities more than twice as likely to be obese than those in more affluent areas.
We know this is not a matter of personal choice, it’s about the environments in which our children are growing up.
Councils have been ambitious in leading, innovating, and intervening on children’s public health. We’re using planning powers to limit the concentration of fast-food outlets near schools. We’re also promoting healthier advertising in public spaces, working with local businesses to offer better food options, and campaigning for public health teams to be statutory consultees in planning decisions.
But our efforts can only go so far without stronger national action. Our commitment to raising the healthiest generation of children could be missed without funding and national leadership.
We’re calling for the Government to reverse the 27 per cent real-terms cut to the public health grant since 2015 and to move to multi-year funding settlements so councils can plan with certainty.
Alongside this, we need a review of the distribution of public health funding, ensuring it reflects the current realities of shifting populations, rising deprivation and changing needs.
If councils had greater local control over the revenue from the soft drinks industry levy, it would enable us to reinvest in areas where health inequalities are the most severe and we can have the greatest impact – such as those with high obesity, tooth decay and inactivity rates among children.
Public health isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s central to prevention, early intervention and long-term wellbeing.
It underpins the NHS 10 Year Plan for England and forms the foundation for healthier, more resilient communities.
With strong national leadership, sustained investment, and real local powers, we can raise the healthiest generation of children. We owe our children and communities a future that is nothing less.
- Find out more about the LGA’s work on children and young people.