Leaders in North Cumbria have signed up to, and joined Lancashire and South Cumbria Health Equity Commission (HEC). This means the Health Equity Commission led by international health equity expert, Professor Sir Michael Marmot now covers the whole of Lancashire and Cumbria and will aim to help improve the health and wellbeing of nearly 2 million residents across the region. The HEC has now been renamed as the Lancashire and Cumbria Health Equity Commission.

The HEC was set up in early 2021 by health and care leaders who wanted to improve health inequalities and make a change in people’s health and wellbeing. The Chair of the Health Equity Commission is Professor Sir Michael Marmot, Professor of Epidemiology at University College London, Director of the University College London Institute of Health Equity, and Past President of the World Medical Association.

Colin Cox, Director of Public Health at Cumbria County Council, said:
“I am delighted that the Health Equity Commission now covers the whole of Cumbria. Taking to reduce health inequalities and create healthy and sustainable communities is at the core of public health and the Commission will help us identify practical ways of doing that.
“The reduction of health inequalities is everyone’s business and health inequality is neither necessary nor fair.”
The HEC aims to start taking action in 2022. The initial aims are:
• Influence all Lancashire and Cumbria partners in mobilising care to reduce health inequalities and its role in the economy
• Focus on the social determinants for health, with reference to poverty/deprivation, building on the work of the health focus in the Local Enterprise Partnerships and the Greater Lancashire Plan and equivalent Cumbria plan
• Creating healthy and sustainable places and communities with a focus on empowerment of people in decision-making that shapes policy at neighbourhood, place, and system
• Creating good/healthy workforce and a focus on technology and innovation that supports prevention to aid economic recovery
• Important times of life, in particular giving children and young people a good start in life with a focus on the first 1000 days
The HEC is currently asking partners to contribute to their call for evidence to help understand issues locally. You can contribute to this at: https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/PublicViewsHEC/