Scotland's Population Health Framework: supporting sector summaries - local government

Overview

To support the implementation of the Population Health Framework, a suite of sector summaries has been developed with key partners. These summaries highlight the vital role that key sectors play in creating good health, recognising that meaningful progress towards our aim can only be achieved through shared responsibility and collaboration.

These summaries cover local government, the NHS, the community and voluntary sector and the business sector. Each reflects the sector’s contributions to realising our aim to improve life expectancy and tackle health inequalities through the delivery of the priorities and actions set out in the Framework.

The following sector summary focuses on local government reflecting its unique strengths, perspectives, and levers for change. Local government offers a critical leadership role and collaborates through local key partnerships to deliver public services that strengthen the building blocks of health.

Together these sector summaries aim to support dialogue, collaborative working and coordinated action ensuring that all parts of the system are enabled to contribute fully to the delivery of the Population Health Framework.

Working Together to Improve People’s Health

Local government is uniquely placed to shape the places and communities in which people are born, grow up, live, work and age, and plays a vital role in supporting the health and wellbeing of Scotland’s people. The services delivered by local government are critical to creating the conditions for people to live longer, healthier and more fulfilling lives and help to strengthen the building blocks of health.

Health outcomes vary across Scotland and local government offers important insights and local knowledge of the needs of the communities they serve. Working collaboratively with the NHS, Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs), community and voluntary organisations and local businesses through Community Planning Partnerships (CPPs) and other partnerships, local government aligns resource locally and coordinates services to meet the needs of the local population.

Community Planning Partnerships bring together local partners with the communities they serve and are central to local collaborative working and delivery. The Verity House Agreement recognises CPPs as a critical mechanism for the alignment of resources locally, focused on prevention and early intervention, and delivering shared priorities. Realising the full potential of CPPs requires all public bodies that can contribute to community planning to play their part.

The coordinated efforts of CPPs include the development of a shared vision to improve local outcomes for people – Local Outcome Improvement Plans (LOIPs) - at a local authority level and the development of more targeted Locality Plans at community level. Both plans are informed by engagement with communities and are based on local need. All partners are expected to take account of these plans and contribute appropriate resources to improve the agreed priority outcomes.

Partnership working at a CPP level with the community and voluntary sector as an equal partner, including through Third Sector Interfaces (TSIs), can provide important links to communities and build capacity to support community engagement and empowerment.

The Role of Local Government

As providers of local services

• Local authorities provide a wide range of services for people in their communities, which touch every building block of health. These services are delivered both directly, “in-house”, and indirectly through commissioning and procurement processes with partners in business, community and voluntary sectors.
• Local services support some of the most vulnerable people in society and help reduce inequalities, for example through community care and support, housing and employability services.
• Local services also support the creation of health-enabling environments by promoting active travel and access to green and blue spaces. Environmental Health and Trading Standards teams limit the availability of health harming commodities in our communities by enforcing planning and licensing policies.
• Working in partnership with the NHS, HSCPs play an essential role in strategically planning a broad range of delegated services across health and social care through a joined-up approach. These services are delivered by HSCPs and aim to focus on anticipatory and preventative care.

As local leaders

• As local leaders, local government can actively demonstrate and promote health in all policies. By considering local need and ensuring decisions about services are taken in conjunction with the people who use them, local services can support real change in communities.
• As statutory members of HSCPs, CPPs, Community Justice Partnerships and Alcohol and Drug Partnerships, local authorities advocate for the needs of their local populations and foster positive working relationships with key partners.

As employers and anchor institutions

• Local authorities are large, locally-rooted employers, employing over 260,000 staff across Scotland to provide a range of essential services.
• Local authorities are important anchor institutions with a significant stake in their local communities. Through a variety of employment opportunities, local authorities promote the principles of Fair Work and support sustainable, local employment.
• By following the principles of Community Wealth Building, local authorities develop partnerships with local businesses to protect jobs, reduce supply chains and ultimately strengthen local economies.
• By following ethical procurement principles, local government and local partners can ensure social value from public contracts, including the promotion of human rights and environmental responsibility.

Working Together with Scottish Government

The Verity House Agreement, agreed in 2023, articulates how Scottish and Local Government can work collaboratively, in order to deliver shared priorities: tackling poverty, especially child poverty; transforming our economy through a just transition to deliver net zero; and delivering sustainable person-centred public services. The Population Health Framework is the result of strong, collaborative working between Scottish and Local Government, and reflects the approach to partnership working described by the Verity House Agreement.

Unlocking this Potential

The Population Health Framework is a ten-year, cross-sector approach to improving health and wellbeing in Scotland. During its lifetime the Framework will set out priorities and tangible actions to improve health and reduce health inequalities. The actions within this will help to support Scotland to have a healthy population, where everyone can actively participate in society and work, engage in social activities and contribute meaningfully to their communities. Many of the actions will require ongoing, collaborative working between national government, local government and other local partners if they are to be delivered successfully.