Greater localism for public health

Decentralising decision-making and responsibility down to local government, community and individual level is the underlying approach of a new health white paper, published at the end of November.
Local authority-based Directors of Public Health, who would work in partnership with the local NHS and the public, private and voluntary sectors, and ring-fenced budgets for local authority public health activity together with a health premium to reward progress against health outcomes, are among the proposals contained in Healthy Lives, Healthy People.
Public Health England will be created as a service that gives more power to local people over their health, whilst keeping a firm national grip on crucial population-wide issues such as flu pandemics.
The approach will be one of individuals taking responsibility to live more healthily through encouragement with more prescriptive approaches only if this fails.