Economies for Healthier Lives A programme to strengthen relationships between economic development and health

Building cross-sector relationships and integrating data is essential but takes time and resources. The programme in Liverpool City Region aimed to improve the use of data in the design of employment services to benefit health. It laid important foundations for longer-term integration between the combined authority and the Integrated Care System. This sits alongside the maturing relationships and partnerships between economic development and health, which will be further strengthened through the new health duty. The region appointed a health policy lead in the combined authority who is continuing to work across the region to create a more unified, preventative approach.

Changing the language around economic growth and businesses can make it more accessible to a more diverse group of people. Salford prioritised community wealth building through social cooperative businesses that, in setting up new contracts with anchor institutions, aim to benefit the health of local people by increasing actual and perceived power and control over economic assets. Unlimited Potential, in delivering the project, used language centred on ‘growing’ the economy and the role of ‘rooted’ businesses to overcome perceived obstacles around economics terminology – experienced by both public health teams and their target community of young people. 

This approach supported both the engagement between public health and economic development teams and the engagement with young people, who are currently working on a start-up catering social enterprise. The project has built political support in Salford and Greater Manchester, and was shortlisted by a citizen jury of over 1,000 Europeans for the Council of Europe’s 2025 Innovation in Politics Award. 

The council partnered with the local DWP job centre to support 16-24-year-olds into training and employment, delivering this service though a youth hub. The youth hub became the focal point for multiple pilot programmes — from mentoring and work placements to bursary support — offering wraparound services addressing both economic and health-related barriers. Initially, engagement with DWP work coaches was challenging due to their structured processes. However, over time, a more flexible and fluid referral pathway was established, enabling initiatives like sector-based academies and supported work placements. 

This collaboration significantly boosted outcomes, with over 300 young people supported into employment and a projected £26 million in wider service savings over a five-year period.

Glasgow City Region’s Capital Health Impact Assessment (CHIA) tool is supporting economic development and public health teams to assess the impact of infrastructure spending on health inequalities. This tool will be used in the development and delivery of capital infrastructure projects at all stages to ensure that spending decisions focus on maximising benefits for local communities, including reducing health inequalities. The CHIA has been rolled out across the city region’s eight member authorities, and public health colleagues have committed to assessing the next group of projects. Major regional projects such as the Clyde Metro have committed to doing a health assessment with CHIA. This tool became the starting point of a deeper relationship between economic development and public health in Glasgow. It has led to joint chief executive strategy meetings and joint work on labour market inactivity due to poor health through the city region’s Intelligence Hub. 

One challenge in the rollout has been the cultural differences in approach to evidence and evaluation between the economic development and public health sectors. Differing approaches to proportionality and terminology needed to be worked through for the evidence to be mobilised in support of investment decisions, and one solution to this has been embedding public health officers economic development teams.

Leeds City Council revitalised the Leeds Anchor Network, which was originally established in 2018, and expanded it to include private sector employers. The network encourages 'anchor institutions' to use their influence over employment, procurement and service delivery to reduce inequality, including employing people from disadvantaged areas. 

Anchor metrics include staff health and wellbeing as well as procurement, employment and diversity outcomes. To better understand community access to jobs and skills, the team piloted a community listening model in three priority wards. This process identified barriers such as unrecognised qualifications and poor written English that result in underemployment, negatively affecting mental health and self-esteem, which community organisations could then move to address. This pilot catalysed a citywide listening exercise focused on place-based neighbourhood development and laid the groundwork for more strategic co-production.