🍉If we are serious about giving every child the best start in life, we must ensure that they can access healthy and nutritious food in every early years setting.

👏 Whilst we whole-heartedly welcome the expansion of free meals for school children in households receiving Universal Credit, the report reveals that too many families with young children who are furthest from health equity remain locked out of the support they need.

🆕 Alongside @foodfoundation.bsky.social, we've supported this new report from Bremner and Co, which exposes this gap.

🍽️ Free school meals for schools, but not nurseries.

📊 Fewer than 4% of children in childcare to receive free meals, compared with 30% of pupils in school.
bremnerco.com/report-too-y...

🙏 A big thank you to everyone who attended, and helped make the day a success. I'm looking forward to seeing our partners again soon!

People are standing in groups and talking at the Impact on Urban Health Partner Day

🏙️ Nearly 60 of our partners joined us to connect and discuss how we can improve health equity in Lambeth and Southwark, and beyond.

It was fantastic to hear so many rich conversations, learn from one another, and see new collaborations being built.

People are sitting around tables at the Impact on Urban Health Partner Day

🌟 My reflections on the Impact on Urban Health Partner Day

Last week, we hosted our first Partner Day. I felt truly inspired by the energy and commitment in the room, and grateful for the ideas that will help shape our next steps.

💚 Children’s health must be treated as a nation-building mission: safeguarded in budgets, given long-term accountability, and at the centre of national policy.

The evidence is clear: the mission can succeed, but only if prevention, equity, and children’s health are at its heart.

🏙️ To deliver on its health mission, the government itself needs to rewire. Health can’t just sit in DHSC: it must include communities, local government, civil society, and industry.

When people most affected are part of shaping solutions, those solutions stick.

To break the cycle, we must tackle the NHS crisis & invest in prevention.

IPPR research commissioned by @impurbanhealth.bsky.social suggests there are near-term benefits of prevention:
healthy eating➡️better school attendance
cleaner fair➡️fewer emergency admissions
safe housing➡️less pressure on NHS

We know there are stark health inequalities across the UK. Poor social conditions drive poor health, putting the NHS under strain:
🍔unhealthy food
🏠insecure incomes
🏚️bad housing
🌬️polluted air

This makes it even harder for government to act on the root causes.

❤️‍🩹 This week, I spoke on a panel with @ippr.org at the Labour Party Conference, asking 'Can the government deliver its long-term health mission?'. #Lab25 🧵

🍇 This is an important step towards building a food system that prioritises access to healthy, affordable food for everyone.

'Buy one, get one free' deals for unhealthy food banned in supermarkets Crisps, sweets, chocolate and fizzy drinks will be covered by restrictions starting in England.

👏 It's great to see restrictions on promotions for unhealthy products coming into force across the country today
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Amplifying voices for clean air Our Amplifying Voices strand supports the communities who are most affected by air pollution to advocate for change.

All good health interventions start with a simple action: Listening!

Learn more about our work to amplify the voices of communities most affected by air pollution: urbanhealth.org.uk/insights/new...

YouTube video by Impact on Urban Health Amplifying Voices: The Social Innovation Partnership (TSIP)

I'm proud of @impurbanhealth.bsky.social's work to amplify the voices of communities most affected by air pollution.

In this film, Rasha Rashid from The Social Innovation Partnership (TSIP) talks about why it's crucial to listen to the people most affected by air pollution 👇

Amplifying voices for clean air Our Amplifying Voices strand supports the communities who are most affected by air pollution to advocate for change.

Learn more about how @impurbanhealth.bsky.social support organisations disproportionately affected by air pollution: urbanhealth.org.uk/insights/new...

YouTube video by Impact on Urban Health Amplifying Voices: Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, Ella Roberta Foundation

🔥A core part of our work @impurbanhealth.bsky.social involves partnering with those who are disproportionately affected by air pollution.

In this film one of those partners, the Ella Roberta Foundation, talks about their tireless work to protect children from air pollution.
youtu.be/5xDn-UZQN-U

YouTube video by Impact on Urban Health Good Food Retail 2025

🎬 We've made a short film about the project, highlighting the importance of every stakeholder and the impact on the communities the network is reaching: www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvpW...

The launch event of the Good Food Retail network. Three people are standing beside a banner with the text: GOOD FOOD RETAIL. Putting health at the heart of convenience.

Key takeaways:

🤝Collaboration is key - retailers, suppliers, wholesalers and local councils have come together on this mission
📝Evaluation - early findings show the model is working
🗺️Scaling up - from a successful pilot to 220 stores in 13 LAs - and counting!

🍒 Access to healthy food in the UK is incredibly unequal - and shopping at convenience stores is often the only option for children and families living on lower incomes.

🛒 The network aims to increase the flow of healthy options in local stores.

A group of people are standing and talking at the launch event of the Good Food Retail network

I spoke last week at the launch of the national Good Food Retail network.

👏 Our Children's health and food programme has been working with Rice Marketing for many years and it's brilliant to see the progress that's been made.

The Guardian view on public health: if Labour is serious about reducing illness, it must focus on causes | Editorial Editorial: A shift to prevention will only succeed if ministers take a bold approach to regulation and lift people out of poverty

❤️‍🩹Good health is not just about hospitals. It's shaped by the air we breathe, the food we eat, our income and our housing.

🤝Govt's ambitions are good but must be matched with funding, legislation, and by working with communities to prioritise health.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

What the latest data reveals about air pollution As part of our commitment to equitably improving air quality, we're sharing the latest insights from the London Atmospheric Emissions Inventory (LAEI), a crucial dataset that maps sources of air pollu...

🔥Want to know what the biggest sources of air pollution are in your borough?

In some boroughs (like Lambeth) burning wood is the #1 source of PM2.5. In others (like Southwark) it's construction. Find out for your borough here 👇
urbanhealth.org.uk/insights/dat...

Black Food Fund A new group of local people from Lambeth & Southwark. Giving grants to building a healthier and fairer food future for families.

🚨The Black Food Fund are offering grants of up to £25k to fund local research that uplifts Black African and Caribbean food traditions.

❤️‍🩹Fantastic opportunity to contribute to healthier, more equitable food system in Lambeth and Southwark.
blackfood.fund

How Labour can keep its promise and reduce health inequality once and for all The government has made promising steps to reduce health inequality. Here’s what Impact on Urban Health want to see following summer recess.

The good news is air quality can be improved.

@impurbanhealth.bsky.social, we recently wrote for @bigissue.com about how Govt must equitably improve air quality:
✅Enshrine the right to breathe clean air in law
🔥Reduce domestic burning
🚛Fix the urban freight system

www.bigissue.com/opinion/labo...

Air pollution raises risk of dementia, say Cambridge scientists Most comprehensive study of its kind highlights dangers of vehicle emissions and woodburning stoves

❗️Air pollution raises risk of dementia

🚨People in urban areas being exposed to dangerously high levels of air pollution.

💰Royal College of Physicians: "When impacts such as dementia are accounted for, the [annual] economic cost may be as high as £50bn."
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

How Labour can keep its promise and reduce health inequality once and for all The government has made promising steps to reduce health inequality. Here’s what Impact on Urban Health want to see following summer recess.

After one year in power, has the Government made any progress on its promise to address health inequality?

Delighted to see @impurbanhealth.bsky.social's Director of Policy, Influencing & Change, Mark Heffernan, analyse the Govt's progress so far: www.bigissue.com/opinion/labo...

My key takeaways:
💪Bringing power closer to communities = solutions that are more likely to stick
📊Inequalities show up starkly in cities…
🔎…...But cities have assets that make them great places to share and learn to find answers

Key lessons:
🚪A 'no wrong door' approach ensures that the service can be accessed in a number of ways and is open to all
📌Co-location of services is important