Public Health at Cheshire East Council

The role of Public Health is to reduce health inequalities and to support residents to live well for longer. Health is shaped by where and how we live but also by our own individual choices.

Cheshire East Public Health is made up of different strands:

• Health improvement: project work focussed on a variety of different areas to educate, enable and empower our local populations including professionals. Examples of current key work areas include physical activity, oral health, healthy weight and self-harm and suicide prevention.
• Health intelligence: the interpretation of data to show key trends and areas of need within our communities. Health intelligence also lead the Joint Strategic Needs Assessments (JSNAs) and the Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA) which informs decisions around new or existing pharmacies and the services provided.
• Health protection: the function of protecting and managing risk within our local populations. This includes disease control and managing outbreak situations, infection control and hygiene measures, managing vaccination programmes and emergency preparedness and response.
• Commissioning: the process of planning, agreeing and monitoring local services such as One You Cheshire East (Cheshire East’s integrated lifestyle service), sexual health, and substance misuse
• Business: the functions of governance, finance and asset management

Cheshire East Health and Wellbeing Board

The Council’s Health and Wellbeing Board have a duty to produce a Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) for their area. The  JSNA  identifies health and social care needs and ensures that public health services and interventions reflect the needs of residents.

For further information email PHBusinessTeam@cheshireeast.gov.uk 

Cheshire East Health and Wellbeing Board information page provides access to the  JSNA and  PNA , Health and Wellbeing Strategy, and the Director of Public Health’s Annual Report.

Infection Prevention and Control Services

The Infection Prevention and Control Services take a proactive approach to reducing infectious disease across Cheshire East, using targeted interventions focused on prevention.

Becoming a Marmot Local Authority

Building a fairer, healthier future for Cheshire East

Cheshire East Council is exploring the next step in its commitment to improving health and wellbeing – by considering becoming a Marmot Local Authority.

This builds on our Cheshire East Plan priority to improve health and wellbeing, and our ambition to ensure health outcomes are improved across our diverse borough through a targeted approach that reduces health inequalities. It also complements our work to embed a Health in All Policies approach, ensuring that every decision we make considers its impact on residents’ health.

A Marmot Local Authority uses an internationally recognised, evidence-based framework to tackle health inequalities by addressing the wider factors that affect people’s lives – such as housing, education, employment, and environment.

Rather than seeing health as just the responsibility of services like the NHS or Public Health, it recognises that everyone across the council has a role to play.

In 2008, Professor Sir Michael Marmot chaired an independent review to propose the most effective evidence-based strategies for reducing health inequalities in England. The final report, 'Fair Society Healthy Lives', was published in 2010. At the heart of the Marmot approach are six principles, which together provide a clear framework for tackling inequalities in a practical, joined-up way:

• Give every child the best start in life
• Enable people to maximise their capabilities and have control over their lives
• Create fair employment and good work for all
• Ensure a healthy standard of living for all
• Create healthy and sustainable places and communities
• Strengthen prevention of ill health

‘All Together Fairer: health equity and the social determinants of health in Cheshire and Merseyside’ was published in May 2022. Two additional Marmot Principles were added to the original six:

• Tackle racism, discrimination, and their outcomes
• Pursue environmental sustainability and health equity together.

The Cheshire and Warrington Combined Authority has already committed to adopting the Marmot Principles as part of its wider ambition to become the healthiest, most sustainable, inclusive, and fastest-growing place in the UK by 2045.

For Cheshire East, this is an opportunity to align with regional partners while strengthening the work we are already doing – from targeted services in our communities to initiatives like All Together Fairer and our focus on tackling child poverty.

Becoming a Marmot Local Authority wouldn’t be about starting from scratch, but it would build on our existing strengths and provide a clearer, more consistent way of working across all services.

It could mean:

• Embedding health and fairness into everyday decision-making
• Focusing resources where they are needed most
• Strengthening partnerships across the system
• Supporting residents to live healthier, more independent lives.

Ultimately, reducing inequalities is not only the right thing to do, but it also helps create stronger communities, reduces demand on services, and supports a thriving local economy.

The council is currently exploring what becoming a Marmot Local Authority would mean for Cheshire East, and a decision will be considered in due course. Councillor Nick Mannion, the leader of the council has welcomed the opportunity to build on our strong foundations and further strengthen our commitment to reducing inequalities.

Everyone has a part to play, whether you work in planning, transport, housing, education, or frontline services – your role already has an impact on our residents’ health and wellbeing. By working together, we can make sure Cheshire East is a place where everyone can live a healthy, fulfilling life.

---