Regional devolution and health inequalities

 Many levers for shaping the wider determinants of health, for example employment opportunities, transport and planning, are held at a regional level. With regional devolution remaining high on the political agenda, there is an opportunity to explore how to maximise the role of Combined Authorities, working with partners, to address these determinants of health, and subsequently improve health and reduce health inequalities.

The Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES), in collaboration with The King’s Fund, has been selected, following a competitive tender process, as our devolution and health research and insights partner. They will draw on a range of inputs to synthesise and contribute to the evidence base on devolution and health, including academic literature, grey literature and on-the-ground insights through direct engagement with combined authorities and regional partners. They will explore learnings from English, UK and international evidence.

CLES and the King’s Fund will undertake primary research and review existing literature to derive fresh actionable knowledge and insights. They will produce content relevant to the current context of regional tier policy and delivery, and seek to influence decision-makers.

This work forms a part of our wider devolution and health package, and CLES and the King’s Fund will work closely with partners on our Combined Authorities programme, a £1.3 million, 3-year award programme with Mayoral combined authorities to make the most of the levers they have to act, by bolstering capacity to improve health.