Leeds made a commitment to become a Marmot place in 2023 and embarked on a two-year partnership with the IHE to deliver a Fairer Leeds.

During the first year, Leeds has carried out a ‘whole-system review’. This analysed a wide range of data on health outcomes and the social determinants of health, alongside the city’s strategic approaches to reducing health inequalities. Outputs from the review have included a set of recommendations that will be taken forward to build and strengthen the ways Leeds tackles health inequity. The recommendations will be supported by high level system indicators designed to monitor progress over the next 5 – 10 years.

Two themes were prioritised in the first year of the programme:

·      0–5-year-olds

·      Housing

Short reports and recommendations will be co-created with partners in 2024 based on the IHE review of these areas. The focus on these priorities has catalysed local action  - including joint training to support collaboration between housing and health services and a small qualitative evaluation of selective licensing.

The third workstream IHE is working on in Leeds is cross -cutting priorities:

·      Community Voice

·      Addressing Racism and Discrimination

·      Inclusive Economies.

Discrete projects are being delivered under these themes alongside work to embed the priorities across the broader programme.

Existing and new partnerships have been strengthened across the city and the focus on health equity has led to new pieces of work being established – including the development of a Marmot template that, when finalised, will be used in Primary Care services. Thanks to commitment and dedication of local partners  involved in this programme, strategic leaders in the city are more effectively embedding  health equity across strategies, programmes and services.

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In June 2023 Leeds became the latest Marmot place, joining over 40 other local authorities in England and Wales.

Leeds City Council and University College London’s Institute of Health Equity (IHE) are working together over two-years to tackle health inequalities and the part they play in causing illness and lowered life expectancy.  We will start with a focus on two areas - giving every child the best start in life and creating healthy and sustainable communities with good quality housing. 

The Marmot programme is complementing and building upon the work already being done in Leeds to improve health particularly those living in areas of higher deprivation. 

Evidence, including that reported in the  IHE Build Back Fairer: The COVID-19 Marmot Review showed that health inequalities were deepened by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. In joining forces with the IHE, the council is drawing on the expertise of the Marmot team as it seeks to deal with those inequalities.