Case studies

City of York’s public health team recognised that the children in asylum-seeking families had often missed out on routine vaccinations. When other parts of Yorkshire experienced measles outbreaks, the team worked with local partners to prevent an outbreak in York’s migrant population.

Stainforth is a small town in South Yorkshire. This former mining community is located within the City of Doncaster local authority area and has a population of around 6,000. The Shaping Stainforth SPHL programme aims to take a complex system approach to improving the determinants of mental health in Stainforth by building on community strengths and assets.

Newham Council, along with its partners, is adopting a complex systems approach to building food security among young people aged 11 to 19. Nutrition plays a crucial role during adolescence, the second-fastest growth phase after the first two years of life, and is vital for long-term adult health. Food insecurity is a major contributor to poor health outcomes, and Newham’s goal is to shift how food insecurity interventions are framed, designed and delivered for this age group.

Following feedback from some of Barnet’s 400+ care experienced young people aged 14 and over (many of whom are unaccompanied asylum seekers), Barnet Council recently extended the support it offers, launching a “service for life” through its Local Offer and at the dedicated Onwards and Upwards Young People’s Centre.

Nottingham’s new central library opened in November 2023. The redevelopment of the site enabled an immersive early years space to be created, alongside a craft/activity room, exhibition space and engaging children’s library.

Elmbridge Borough Council introduced the Elmbridge Cost of Living Fund to empower community-led projects that support local residents through the cost of living crisis.

When certain groups of boaters in Wiltshire, and across the UK, were excluded from national energy bill support in 2022-23, Wiltshire Council’s Public Health team worked with UK Boaters for Energy Justice, a campaigning team of boaters, to successfully challenge the Government on missing energy bill support.

'Cooking with Friends’ is a Merton Council project aimed at providing care leavers with the opportunity to learn new skills in the kitchen, make new friends and socialise over food. This space provides young people with a chance to create a peer support network, learn life skills and have their say. Those who attend receive a cookbook each session and a voucher of their choice for continuous engagement.

Essex County Council is enabling people to live as independently as possible, by deploying care technologies, reducing dependency on long-term, higher cost care and support. They recognize that most people benefitting from care technology are in the older people population and they are exploring more how care technology can be utilized across other adults.