£1.6m to support combined authorities to level up health across regions in England

The Health Foundation is investing £1.6m in a major new initiative to support combined authorities to level up health across regions in England. 

Recent Health Foundation analysis shows a wide and growing gap in life expectancy of more than nine years for men and nearly eight years for women between the wealthiest and poorest areas of the country. This stark divide has significant health costs while perpetuating regional disparities in economic growth.  

Combined authorities – which bring together local councils under the leadership of elected mayors – now cover more than 40% of England’s population. By using the powers devolved to them by government, they can promote ‘health and wealth’ by driving economic growth and addressing health inequalities.  

The Health Foundation’s new programme will provide £1.6m in funding to boost capacity and support, currently, seven combined authorities* to take action to improve health and reduce inequalities across their regions. The programme will run for three years and will be led by the West Midlands Combined Authority. In the programme’s first year, the authorities will work on issues they identify as priorities. 

Jo Bibby, Director of Health at the Health Foundation, said: 'Good health is critical for thriving regions and a growing economy. But we still see stark health inequalities between different parts of England. This programme is a great opportunity to break the cycle of poor health and low economic participation. Combined Authorities, working across their regions, can tackle inequalities head-on and share their experiences with others.  Coordinated action like this will enable them to make tangible changes to the key factors that drive good health so people can live, work and support each other to build sustainable futures.'

Mubasshir Ajaz, Head of Health and Communities at West Midlands Combined Authority and the programme Senior Responsible Officer said: This is a huge boost to our efforts to ensure combined authorities have a tangible impact on the health of people living in the regions. It will increase understanding of the available levers to reduce inequalities, help us make significant progress on specific activities, and strengthen collaboration between the combined authorities.'

Contacts at the Health Foundation:

• Billie Morgan, External Affairs Manager
• T: 020 7257 8000 
• E: billie.morgan@health.org.uk 
• Navdeep Sidhu,Marketing and Communications Manager  
• T: 020 7257 8067 
• E: navdeep.sidhu@health.org.uk  

Notes to Editors: 

* West Midlands Combined Authority is working with seven other combined authorities to deliver the programme: Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, North of Tyne, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Tees Valley and Greater London Authority. 

On Health Foundation programmes:  

The Improving health and reducing inequalities: Combined Authority Programme builds on the work carried out during another three-year Health Foundation funded project led by the Greater London Authority, the Cities Health Inequalities Project, which explored how combined authorities, working with local government, could maximise the opportunities devolution offers to improve health and tackle health inequalities. And joins a collection of complementary Health Foundation projects focusing on local government.  For example, funding the Shaping Places for Healthier Lives programme to explore how coordinated action by a local authority and its partners can improve physical and mental health. And the Health Foundation funds the Economies for Healthier Lives programme to support local and combined authorities to strengthen relationships between economic development and health. 

On Combined Authorities:  

There are currently nine combined authorities with a directly elected Mayor plus the Greater London Authority in England, set up to enable the devolution of powers to regions to tackle cross-cutting issues.