Green Paper on NHS prevention - response

The Federation has responded to the Government’s proposed approach to putting prevention at the centre of healthcare.

The Green Paper, titled Advancing our Health: Prevention in the 2020s, was published in July and signals a new approach for the health and care system.

We support the Green Paper, which provides an opportunity for the Government to ensure that people on low incomes enjoy longer, healthier lives. It identifies crucial public health challenges, focusing on the central issue of widening health inequalities.

However, it misses the opportunity to set out clearly how good quality affordable homes can help to meet these challenges.

Our response focuses on the fact that good quality, suitable housing is vital to a person’s health and wellbeing. It provides a strong foundation for people to live independent healthy lives.

In our response, we state that in order to maximise the contribution of the housing sector towards supporting a healthier population, government departments should work together to:

• invest in building the homes our country needs
• ensure building safety
• provide long-term funding and certainty for supported housing
• design a fair and effective welfare system
• support great placemaking to promote physical and mental wellbeing.

Download our response