Healthy Communities Fund | Westminster City Council

What is the Healthy Communities Fund?

We have launched a £5 million programme to reduce Westminster’s health inequality gap.

Public Health funding is being given to 42 local community organisations to run free community-led activities designed for diverse groups to enable them to live a healthier lifestyle. Activities include, for example, fitness classes for teenage girls, social sessions for isolated residents and health education sessions.

Our pioneering Healthy Communities Fund is being used to help residents live healthier lives to reduce the borough’s health inequality gap.

Why is it needed?

Despite 85% of residents reporting their health as good or very good, a baby born in the North of Westminster has an average life expectancy of 76 years. Whilst 3 miles away, a child born in Knightsbridge and Belgravia has a life expectancy of 94 - a difference of 18 years and the largest health inequality gap in the country.

This funding will allow organisations to take a holistic approach to health, allowing residents to get involved in something they love, as well as offer an opportunity to discuss preventative healthcare issues, such as screening and vaccinations, and support with their mental wellbeing.

Increasing physical activity, reducing smoking, improving diets and reducing harmful alcohol use would make a meaningful impact on health inequalities since these are some of the leading risk factors driving the burden of preventable ill health and premature mortality.

Why are we working with the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS)?

We are responding to residents’ feedback that they want culturally competent services in the heart of the community, delivered by people who they know and can relate to. Volunteers and local organisations are already embedded into their community so are best placed to know the challenges faced by the residents and service users they serve.

We aim to ultimately strengthen the capacity, knowledge, skills and reach of local VCS organisations. We will build their expertise in embedding healthy behaviours in a way that is relatable to the local community.

We will establish a Healthy Communities Network for our VCS partners to share learning so they can support and encourage residents to use our services and maintain positive behaviour change, through a dedicated training and development offer.

The network will enable us to listen and learn more about what our residents want and need to live healthier lifestyles, and how we can adapt and create bespoke services to meet that need.

Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, Public Health and the Voluntary Sector, Cllr Nafsika Butler Thalassis said:

The Healthy Communities Fund shows how serious we are at reducing the serious health inequalities in Westminster.

Many of the inspirational organisations we are supporting are the lifeblood of their local communities and know the individual struggles faced by their users. This support will no doubt set residents up for healthier, better lives.

Which organisations are the beneficiaries of the fund?

Allocated funds have been made available for 36 projects rights Westminster with different groups encouraging healthier and more sociable lifestyles for residents of all ages and backgrounds.

Organisations include: