“Councils share ambitions to move people from hotels and will continue to work closely with individuals and families over the coming months with local partners to help Afghan families find permanent homes."
The purpose of this framework is to support councillors in their local leadership role as they work with local communities to make a difference. It includes suggestions, prompts and further resources to help you think about the skills you use as a councillor.
Public Health Grant allocations to local authorities 2023/24
It is disappointing that the Public Health Grant allocations for 2023/24 have been published so late (15 March). With two weeks away from the start of the financial year and councils are only just being formally told how much money is being made available for councils to tackle costly public health issues such as sexual health, drug and alcohol services and stop smoking services.
South West: Increasing Uptake of PrEP in Under-served Groups
Councils across the South West have pooled budgets to carry out research into why certain groups are not coming forward for the HIV-preventative treatment PrEP. The findings of the exercise are now being used to run a social marketing campaign which will be tailored towards those groups and individuals who are least likely to come forward to access PrEP. PrEP is a pill which prevents infection with HIV by stopping the virus from replicating.
East Riding: a Clinic on Wheels - the Importance of Outreach Work
In East Riding a mobile sexual health clinic has been established, allowing staff to take services direct to where people are. It forms part of a multi-pronged approach to reach out to local people, especially the young.
Portsmouth: Creating a Network of Contraception Champions
Portsmouth’s sexual health workforce has been upskilling frontline staff from other services to have healthy conversations about sexual health and in particular pregnancy planning. Staff including midwives, health visitors and social care workers have all received tailored training.
Doncaster: Engaging Sex Workers and Other Hard-to-reach Groups
Doncaster’s sexual health provider Solutions4Health has enjoyed great success in engaging sex workers after creating an outreach sexual health nurse post last year.
Staffordshire, Stoke and Telford and Wrekin: the Benefits of Joint Tendering and Economies of Scale
Commissioners from Staffordshire, Stoke on Trent and Telford and Wrekin councils worked together to jointly tender for sexual health and HIV services. The move has had a variety of advantages, allowing the three areas to benefit from economies of scale and better partnership working with each other and the provider for the benefit of the patients.
Women across Liverpool have easier access to a range of services, including contraception, thanks to a network of clinics, hubs and pharmacies. It has ensured that no woman in the city is more than a 15-minute walk from a contraception service.
