The Board is asked to receive and NOTE the update on the Marmot Place programme of work.
Minutes:
Kate Holburn (Deputy Director of Public Health) presented the Marmot Place update.
The presentation began with a summary of the partnership with the Institute of Health Equity, which had been ongoing for two years. The focus was on three of the eight Marmot principles: Best Start in Life, Fair Employment, and Healthy Standard of Living.
For the Best Start in Life, the Institute of Health Equity had led a deep dive into the progress of children and young people up to age 25 in Oxfordshire, identifying inequalities and gaps, particularly for children eligible for free school meals. Further stakeholder engagement was also planned.
The Fair Employment principle was to be the subject of the next deep dive. In the interim, the Board was informed about the Get Oxfordshire Working plan, which focused on improving access to good quality employment, especially for those facing barriers. Public Health and the Thrive in the Workplace initiative were supporting small and medium enterprises to employ people from disadvantaged backgrounds, providing training and policy support. Work was also underway on social value in contracts, aiming to maximise community benefit.
For Healthy Standard of Living, the Board heard about the housing health needs assessment and the cost of living and low-income family tracker, which district councils were using to help families access entitled benefits, supporting financial stability and linking to other benefits such as pension credits.
The Board was also updated on enablers, including a primary care inequalities template being trialed in one GP practice, designed to help GPs refer patients to appropriate local services, including housing and benefits support. This was being evaluated for potential wider rollout and integration with the neighbourhood health agenda.
The Board was reminded of Oxfordshire’s strengths, particularly the links between academic institutions and anchor organisations. A research strategy had been launched, involving universities in policy work and appointing chief scientific advisors to support Marmot workstreams. The Community Research Network had also been established for over a year.
Rural inequalities were highlighted as a particular issue for Oxfordshire. The Board was shown how, when looking at indices of multiple deprivation, rural areas appeared less deprived overall, but more granular analysis revealed small pockets of deprivation, sometimes in otherwise affluent areas. A dashboard had been developed to identify these areas, and a contract was in place for an organisation to engage with local communities and parish councils to understand residents’ experiences.
Looking ahead, the Board was informed of plans to build a social movement around health equity, including developing a community of practice, mapping existing work, and launching a dedicated Health Equity website.
The Board was also informed of upcoming stakeholder engagement events, including a system-wide webinar, a Healthwatch event, and a newsletter to build the Oxfordshire Health Equity network.
Jonathan Montgomery sought clarification on whether the social value contracting tool was available to organisations beyond the County Council and asked about the primary care inequalities template’s inclusion of community assets. The response confirmed that social value in contracts was a legal requirement and not limited to the County Council, with other organisations encouraged to adopt similar practices. The primary care inequalities template was tailored to local knowledge, including voluntary sector services, and would differ between areas.
City Councillor Chewe Edgar Munkonge asked about coordination of fair employment work across local authorities and partners. The response explained that the Thrive at Work service was designed to support organisations in engaging people facing employment barriers and was linked to the Inclusive Economies Partnership. The Board’s role was to bring together the various streams of work.
District Councillor Rob Pattenden raised concerns about rural inequalities, particularly barriers to housing and services, and asked for more detail. The response noted that barriers included housing stock shortages and poor quality, with further detail to be provided in the housing health needs assessment later in the meeting.
Cllr Bethia Thomas expressed gratitude for the focus on rural inequalities and asked who would be consulted in the community engagement. The response indicated that parish councils, district council contacts, and voluntary sector organisations would be involved, with the list of contacts to be expanded based on local knowledge. Cllr Bethia Thomas suggested involving division members to ensure all relevant groups were included.
Ansaf Azhar emphasised the national significance of tackling rural inequalities and the ambition to develop a blueprint for addressing them. He noted that while some areas had seen relative improvements in deprivation, particularly in Oxford and Cherwell, education indicators had worsened, and some areas in the south and west had become more deprived,especially regarding access to housing and services. He stressed the need for continued focus and evaluation.
Caroline Green reiterated the importance of sustained, long-term work and suggested further evaluation to understand which interventions had led to improvements, to inform future Marmot work.
The Chair concluded that the issues discussed were complex and would require long-term commitment, particularly regarding housing.
The Board RESVOLED to: