Cabinet considered a report on the introduction of a Health Impact Assessment Policy.
The Health and Adults Social Care Policy Development Group had spent some time considering the merits of Health Impact Assessments and how they were used by other Authorities.
The Policy Development Group had noted that one of the recommendations contained in ‘Fair Society, Healthy Lives: Strategic Review of Health Inequalities in England post 2010’ led by Michael Marmot, was the need to create and develop healthy and sustainable places and communities. In order to achieve this outcome, local areas needed to integrate planning, transport, housing and health policies to address the social determinants of health. Health Impact Assessments allowed these interrelationships to be considered as decisions were being made and also gave an opportunity for potential negative and positive impacts to be identified.
The Policy Development Group had identified a number of areas where Health Impact Assessments could add value, specifically in relation to changes of use of premises, strategy development, and decisions to commission or decommission services and the Group considered that there was an immediate need for a specific toolkit to be produced in respect of planning decisions.
The Policy Development Group, at its meeting on 15 July 2013, had recommended to Cabinet that a Health Impact Assessment Policy be adopted. Councillor M Simon, as Chairman of the Health and Adults Social Care Policy Development Group, attended the meeting and spoke on the matter.
RESOLVED: That
1 the Health Impact Assessment Policy be endorsed and adopted; and
2 Officers be authorised to take all necessary actions to implement the Policy.