System Leadership

Lancashire's Healthy Weight Declaration Relaunch

Lancashire County Council signed up to the Healthy weight Declaration in 2017. During the initial stages of the Healthier Places programme, work is underway to build engagement with officers and members within district councils to raise awareness of the overarching vision for the Lancashire Healthier Places Programme and understand local priorities in regard to health and well-being. A consultation process will be established to ascertain how local areas might utilise a district council declaration to promote a whole systems approach to healthy weight, working collaboratively with colleagues within the County Council. This work is part of Lancashire’s Healthy Hearts Strategy and supports the ambitions of  ‘Lancashire 2050’. The consultation process will include a short series of briefings and events. Further details to follow. 

System Leadership Workshop

On 15th November, officers and elected members came together to discuss how healthy weight can be addressed at a district level. Nine local authorities attended, with representatives from planning, housing, community services, climate and health and wellbeing departments. Councils discussed what actions they are already doing to create healthier environments and how elected members and officers can work together to develop healthier policies to address healthy weight at a district level. 

“System leadership is about building a culture in which systems approaches can flourish. System leaders set the tone for an organisation to work more systematically and encourages staff to embed system approaches in their work”.

- UK Government Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and Department for Energy Security & Net Zero, 2023

Fylde Healthy Weight Workshop

On Thursday 3rd October, Fylde Council held a Healthy Weight Consultation workshop at the Town Hall to discuss how the district can play a leadership role in building a healthier weight environment. The workshop was chaired by Cllr Chris Dixon, Lead Member Social Wellbeing, and was attended by both officers and elected members from the District Council, voluntary sector organisations from Fylde and colleagues from Lancashire County Council. In groups, participants discussed what is already being done in the district to promote healthy weight, as well as condisering opportunities for further action. 

Pendle Healthy Weight Workshop

On Wednesday 13th November, Pendle Borough Council held a Healthy Weight Consultation workshop at Nelson Town Hall to discuss how the district can play a leadership role in building a healthier weight environment. The workshop was chaired by Cllr Mohamed Iqbal, Lead Member for Housing, Health and Wellbeing, and was attended by both officers and elected members from the District Council, NHS, voluntary sector organisations and colleagues from Lancashire County Council. In groups, participants discussed what is already being done in the district to promote healthy weight, as well as considering opportunities for further action. The Eco Duniya Group from Marsden Heights delivered a presentation on their social movement campaign, which centered around developing healthier breakfast options for pupils.