Agenda item

To consider the Annual Report of the Director of Public Health.

5.1       Eva Hrobonova (Deputy Director of Public Health) introduced the item and stated that the intention of the annual report was to highlight important issues in public health in the last few years. In particular, the report emphasised the importance of physical activity to improve both physical and mental health and how health inequalities could be addressed through more physical exercise. The report also built upon the work of the Physical Activity Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA).

5.2       Colin Brodie (Public Health Knowledge Manager) then presented the report and advised that its main theme was in emphasising the importance of physical activity, including the benefits of undertaking this and the implications of being physically inactive. He stated that there was no need for there to be any financial costs involved for residents to be physically active. Members noted that although Westminster adults were fairly active when compared nationally with other areas, around 25% of adults were still classified as inactive, which could potentially contribute to a number of conditions developing.

5.3       Colin Brodie referred to the areas that benefitted through physical activity as set out in the report, including improved life expectancy, being able to live independently for longer, increased academic performance and achievement and also in reducing pollution through cycling and walking helping to reduce transport use. The report also included suggestions on how key messages could be used to promote existing and future interventions to improve public health.

5.4       Members highlighted other initiatives being used to promote physical activity, such as the draft Walking Strategy. A Member emphasised his preference that the report be Westminster specific as opposed to tri-borough. He felt that the report should provide more information on costs and that there should be a greater focus on what activities Westminster was undertaking and what responsibilities it had. Another Member suggested that it would be useful to compare data between the tri-boroughs and to provide an explanation, for example, as to why Westminster compared well amongst the tri-boroughs in terms of physical activity, but was also spending more than the other two boroughs on health care services costs attributable to physical inactivity. Barbara Brownlee (Director of Housing and Regeneration) commented that she was impressed with the presentation style of the report and that she would be in discussion with the Regeneration Teams to consider what other activities health and wellbeing hubs could offer.

5.5       In reply to some of the issues raised, Colin Brodie confirmed that the annual report was a tri-borough one, however where individual borough data was available, this had been provided. He added that Public Health would be working with the Communications Team on how to circulate the information locally and align it with existing communication campaigns, such as Active Communities.

5.6       In acknowledging the comments above, Councillor Barrie Taylor indicated that he did not favour a tri-borough presentation and felt there should be individual borough annual public health reports.

5.7       The Chairman stated that Public Health was a tri-borough service and it had been agreed that the annual report be tri-borough, however she added that a Westminster vision statement was also being drafted. She also emphasised the need to ensure that the messages communicated would be taken on board by local residents, including taking into account that English language was not the first language for all residents.