Chapter 7
Liverpool is Building and Maintaining Momentum
There is a challenging road ahead for Liverpool and all cities in the UK. Despite a lot of work, many of the indicators are not improving. We need to work smarter not harder and come together around the common themes to embed cohesive approaches. Looking ahead to what’s next in Liverpool:
0-19 Service
Liverpool is rolling out a new 0 to 19 (25) public health service model. Every family will be offered the Healthy Child Programme, which includes screening tests, immunisations, and guidance to support healthy choices. The initiative focuses on vulnerable families and those at risk of poor outcomes, using a community-specific approach.
At the heart of this model is the Family Hub network, which aligns health services with local councils and communities. The programme aims to address local needs by working closely with families, partners, and professionals. Mental health and well-being will be a key focus, as this is expected to be the biggest health challenge by 2040.
Women’s Health
A New Women’s Health Taskforce for the City!
In 2024-25, the Public Health team, with partners across the city, began work on the ‘Liverpool Women’s Health Strategic Framework.’ This project is led by the new Women’s Health Taskforce, which brings together a variety of voices from across the city.
The need for action became clear in the “State of Health in the City: Liverpool 2040” report. It showed worrying predictions for women’s health. The report said that, by 2040, women’s life expectancy would drop by one year, and their healthy life expectancy would fall by 4.1 years.
In response, the report recommended creating a Women’s Health Strategy to improve outcomes for women and girls in the city. The aim is to ensure women’s voices are heard as the framework is developed to meet their needs.
The strategy will be guided by key principles:
- Listening to women’s voices in shaping, implementing, and evaluating the strategy.
- Focusing on reducing the gap in health between different communities and the national average.
- Taking a life-course approach to prevention and early intervention.
- Building on the strengths and resources of women and girls in the city.
- Ensuring that women’s health is considered in all city work.
- Committing to an inclusive approach that meets the needs of all women and girls.
Looking ahead, in 2025, Liverpool will launch the Women’s Health Framework, outlining key focus areas and actions. The Women’s Health Taskforce will continue to meet, listen to women, and guide the framework to create real change for women and girls in Liverpool.
Developing the Evidence Base: Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC)
Liverpool City Council, working in tandem with partners including the University of Liverpool and Liverpool John Moores University has been funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research for the next five years to establish a Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC) Liverpool. The HDRC Liverpool programme will build research capacity and capability. With a focus on improving the wider determinants of health. it will ensure evidence informed decision making by the City Council and its partners. Where research does not exist, HDRC Liverpool will support the development of new research evidence. This will be shared across other cities facing similar issues. This will be done with our local communities. The approach will also build on existing local community assets such as Liverpool specific data, the experience of our residents and our research and innovation skills.
Healthier, fairer Liverpool – A Marmot City
As a Marmot City, Liverpool is focusing on improving wellbeing and addressing social determinants of health through strategic plans like the One Liverpool Plan (the NHS plan for the city) and the Council Plan. It is vital that we have a clear focus on outcomes for residents – this includes seeking their input on key initiatives, ensuring our case management system is in place, and using partners to help develop a strong, coherent plan for Liverpool.
Our new City Plan will place health at its heart and provide the opportunity to deliver significant impact for the next generation of children and young people – ensuring efforts are more joined up and focused on prevention and not just intervention. Finally, as a city we are committed to embedding residents’ voices in decision making and engaging and empowering our local communities as we launch our Marmot City Status in April 2025.
We will produce annual Health 2040 progress reports to track progress and maintain momentum, in what is an incredibly important large scale change programme in the city. We also hope to announce our Marmot City status in April with the launch of our Fairer, Healthier Liverpool Partnership report showcasing all of the amazing partnership work taking place to reduce inequalities and improve health and wellbeing of our residents by making Liverpool a fairer, healthier, stronger city for all.
Professor Michael Marmot discussing Health in All Policies
Foreword video transcript - Sir Michael Marmot
Liverpool is seeking to gain Marmot city status, which aims to reduce health inequalities and improve the wellbeing of residents.
“Coming to Liverpool and looking at how this is being put into practice is really inspiring. Seeing all the different sectors working together to create a fairer, healthier Liverpool is exactly what we want to see. People in Liverpool are working hard, really to make a difference.
Terrific.”
