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A Focus on Housing and Health in Northumberland

Key stakeholders from across the housing and health system came together to discuss the link between good housing and health outcomes, and to identify opportunities for more collective action in the future. 

Housing is one of the building blocks of good health and this collaborative approach aims to support the County Partership ambition to make a generational change by tackling inequalities and reducing the gap in experience residents have across health, education, employment and social outcomes. 

Cllr Veronica Jones, Cabinet Member for Tackling Inequalities at Northumberland County Council, said: “We know that the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age are the most important factors in determining good health.  

“Currently there is a twenty-year gap in Healthy Life Expectancy between our most and least deprived areas of Northumberland.  

“Our work with the Institute of Health Equity is helping us to identify the areas where the housing system can make the biggest impact on, and positively contribute to health outcomes across the county.” 

In Northumberland a variety of projects are already underway to improve health outcomes and to tackle inequalities through housing, by improving living environments for our residents.  

They include: 
  • The creation of a Healthcare Navigator post – who helps some of the county’s most vulnerable residents to access medical support. 
  • Grant funding is available for low carbon initiatives, insulation and ventilation to residents and landlords to improve the heat retention and costs of heating their homes. 
  • Work is underway with the Town and Country Planning Association and the Institute of Health Equity to ensure that ongoing work is targeted to make the biggest impact for those living where health outcomes are currently lowest across the county.

Simon Neilson, Executive Director of Place and Regeneration at Northumberland County Council, said: “There is increasing evidence to suggest good quality housing helps us stay healthy and can improve our wellbeing, while poor housing can increase demand on health, other public services and the economy. 

“There is already lots of great work being done in Northumberland, and our level of ambition is to improve the health and wellbeing of our residents.  By working collaboratively with colleagues across the housing sector as we develop a new housing strategy, we can identify opportunities to work together to improve healthy life expectancy in Northumberland.” 

The Housing discussion builds on previous work to tackle inequalities and to ensure momentum, at future six monthly intervals key stakeholders in Northumberland will gather to explore further collaborative opportunities in the areas of Employment & Health, and the Best Start in Life. 
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