Publications

Councils all over the country understand how the quality of housing affects the health and wellbeing of their residents. Poor housing costs the NHS at least £2.5 billion a year in treating people with illnesses directly linked to living in cold, damp and dangerous homes.

This outcome and impact development tool has been designed to promote the development of local Healthwatch as an independent organisation that can effectively and efficiently deliver its functions.

This local Healthwatch Reflective Audit has been developed to help you understand how well local Healthwatch is working in your local area. It also helps you understand whether other organisations are introducing changes as a result of working with local Healthwatch.

This briefing for councillors and officers explains how behavioural change interventions – or nudge theory as it is dubbed – can help local authorities fulfil their public health responsibilities.

Within the context of the Health and Social Care Act 2012 (‘the Act') a number of key players have come together to provide effective leadership and support for the successful implementation of local Healthwatch as a consumer champion.

The LGA has combined with Public Health England to provide some helpful guidance to councillors on Measles. This listing of frequently asked questions explains what is being done to reduce the spread of these latest local outbreaks of the disease and what vaccination strategies your local authority can adopt.

From 1 April 2013, responsibility for public health and other health services will be given to local agencies, including councils, clinical commissioning groups and the new health and wellbeing boards. Local Healthwatch will be the new local champion for health and social care.

This sheet provides a response to an increasingly common question about the involvement of councillors in the governance of LHW. Question: Can serving councillors be either chairs or board members of local Healthwatch organisations?

This short resource sheet is aimed at local health and care system leaders and professionals with an interest, or potential interest, in integrated care and support. The purpose is to signpost people to information and resources on how best to achieve this successfully within their local health and care economies. 

Public health will become the responsibility of local government when it transfers from the NHS to local authorities in April 2013. This publication for councillors and officers explains the challenges facing councils and the opportunities they have to tackle obesity and reduce health inequalities in local communities.