What is Luton Health Equity Town?
In 2021, as part of Luton’s strategic 2040 vision, Luton Borough Council, in their efforts to encourage a health equity approach to improving health and wellbeing in Luton, became a Marmot Place. Since then Luton have adopted and supported embedding thinking on tackling health inequalities and promoting actions that impact on the building blocks of health.
The council has facilitated and promoted activities that enable its partners to work together across the 8 Marmot principles. In order to support the development of our Marmot Town report, we set up a steering group of partners across the system to obtain buy-in. The work of the steering group contributed to the Reducing Health Inequalities in Luton: A Marmot Town report. The steering group have also coordinated actions across 4 agreed priority areas.
Our priorities
NET ZERO & HEALTH
BUSINESS, SKILLS & EMPLOYMENT AND HEALTH
CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE
HOUSING AND HEALTH
Luton's Health Equity Town - HET Activities
Communications:
We have developed a shared newsletter, where health equity system partners can contribute and share their learning.
One year On Conference:
In 2023 the Luton public health team convened a system-wide conference to celebrate our successes and plan for the coming year. The conference had over 80 delegates in the room and over 18 case studies submitted by various partners showcasing how their organisations were tackling health inequalities.
Health Equity Town Partnership:
As part of Luton ’ s Health and Wellbeing governance structure. Luton hosts a system wide partnership focusing on the wider determinants of health and activities supporting community groups to deliver on improving health equity.
Case Studies:
We have encouraged case studies from partners to show case their work. We continue to work with our principle mental health provider East London Foundation Trust (ELFT) who are also a Marmot Trust.
Marmot Principles
Sir Michael Marmot has led work in this area for many years and leads the UCL “Institute of Health Equity” (IHE). The Marmot Review into health inequalities in England published in 2010 proposed an evidence based strategy to address these social determinants of health. The first National Marmot Review in 2010 introduced six principles; broad policy objectives aimed at improving the conditions of everyday life and reducing socioeconomic inequalities. Two more principles have since been added to make more explicit considerations of discrimination and sustainability, which are essential to equity. The eight Marmot principles are:
Give every child the best start in life
Enable all children, young people and adults to maximise their capabilities and have control over their own lives
Create fair employment and good work for all
Create and develop healthy and sustainable places and communities
Ensure a healthy standard of living for all
Strengthen the role and impact of ill-health prevention
Tackle discrimination, racism and their outcomes
Pursue environmental sustainability and health equity together
The Institute of Health Equity is working with local authorities up and down the country to do what they can, to implement the right approaches to reduce health inequalities. The public health department of Luton Borough Council commissioned IHE to support the local authority and other partners to act on health inequalities and become the first ‘Marmot Town’, joining the other ‘Marmot Places’ that are working with the IHE to prioritise health equity. The report, Reducing Health Inequalities in Luton: A Marmot Town, is based on an assessment of data and local evidence and makes recommendations to reduce health inequalities and make Luton a fairer place to live, work, grow up and grow old in.
Luton Health Equity Town's Recommendations
Increase the provision of Flying Start early years services beyond the current highly-targeted approach, developing the universal approach while retaining proportionate focus on areas with higher levels of deprivation. Reduce child poverty by ensuring that early years and maternity services, VCFSE organisations and employers support households to access available benefits and services and pay a living wage. Assess maternity leave policies and support for child care by all employers, including public sector and private businesses. Build on Luton’s success in school readiness with a system-wide ambition to bring all children above the average for pupils in England.
Partners
