St Helens is one of the most deprived local authorities in England. There are challenges, but the past few years have seen a number of significant wins – certainly more than just green shoots of progress.

Award winning council

Hot on the tail of its success at the prestigious 2023 MJ award for its whole-council approach to bridging the inequalities divide in the town, the council has launched a four-year plan which will prioritise health and wellbeing improvements and further reduce inequalities.

The common thread running through the plan is about harnessing opportunities for everyone to make that fresh start in life and begin to thrive.

The People’s Plan outlines the aim to increase the number of active adults and raise aspirations of children and young people.

Four priorities

Social workers will surely welcome the four touch points, which intersect the work they do to support children, families and vulnerable adults, to empower them and help them live independent and satisfying lives:

• Start well
• Live well
• Age well
• Partner priorities (all ages)

Quoted in St Helens Star, Councillor Andy Bowden, St Helens Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Integrated Health and Social Care, said: “The People’s Plan 2024-27 has been developed in collaboration with partners and can be seen as a continuation of our integration journey.

“Our ‘One Place, One System, One Ambition’ vision to improve people’s lives in St Helens remains the same, our four priorities are consistent – however we have widened the scope by including objectives that span the life-course of people, making a more comprehensive plan that provides better alignment with council priorities and the objectives of NHS Cheshire and Merseyside, with the aim of improving the health of the whole population and reducing inequalities.”

Click here to read the St Helens People’s Plan 2024-27 in full.