GLA Group Public Health Function Advice

Delivering a healthy new district of London that addresses health inequalities and
supports the health and well-being of local people are critical to OPDC’s success.
Health and well-being are also a key integral component of OPDC’s Management
Plan and OPDC’s Local Plan. The Local Plan considers the wider determinants of
health and planning for health infrastructure with local, sub-regional, regional, and
national stakeholders.

To inform the planning and delivery of the regeneration of the OPDC area, expert
public health advice is required.

In late 2020 a Public Health Collaboration Project was established under the
oversight of the GLA Group Collaboration Board, to scope and make
recommendations on the effective deployment of specialist public health expertise
within the GLA Group.

On 10 December 2021 the GLA Group Collaboration Board endorsed proposals for
a new GLA Group Public Health Function as a shared service hosted by the GLA
on behalf of the GLA Group. This decision was subsequently ratified via OPDC
Board on 9 March 2022 with a delegation approved for the CEO to finalise the
agreement and approve the associated expenditure. The GLA Group Public Health
Function was established on 1 April 2022 to provide best value to delivering expert
advice to the GLA Group including OPDC. The provision of advice has been
secured through a shared service agreement.

The proposal
Receipt of expert advice from the GLA Group Public Health Function to inform
OPDC projects.

How it will be delivered

Expert public health advice will be delivered by the GLA Group Public Health
Function through officer time. Approach to delivery will be tailored to each project
drawing on the range of officer expertise from within the function. OPDC and the
GLA Group Director of Public Health will meet every six months to set priorities,
identify projects and review service arrangements. OPDC’s Principal Planning
Policy Officer and the GLA Group Director of Public Health will be the main point of
contact for each organisation.

OPDC will sit on the GLA Group Public Health Forum to inform the governance of
the Function.

The cost to OPDC is based on the envisaged officer time provided by the GLA
Group Public Health Function required to inform OPDC projects. This was informed
by discussions with OPDC’s Principal Planning Policy Officer, Chief Finance Officer
and Chief Executive.

The objective is to ensure OPDC projects are informed by expert public health
advice in their planning, delivery, and monitoring phasing.
The expected outcomes will comprise:

• contributing to delivering the Mayor of London’s Health Inequalities Strategy, the London Health and Care Vision;
• a high quality, healthy and sustainable new district of London that supports the health and well-being of local people;
• comprehensive planning for health facilities in the OPDC area; and
• strengthening of the GLA Group’s capacity on public health and collaboration across the group to facilitate best value and practice.

The provision of public health advice will help inform a number of existing and
future OPDC workstreams including:

• delivering OPDC’s Management Plan health related principles.
• delivering policies SP3 (Improving Health and Reducing Health Inequalities) and TCC3 (Social Infrastructure) within OPDC’s Local Plan regarding improving health, reducing health inequalities, and delivering social infrastructure.
• informing the development of emerging planning guidance.
• supporting OPDC’s wider delivery strategy and programmes in delivering new healthy neighbourhoods being planned in the OPDC area

The GLA is responsible for putting in place and administering a GLA Group Public
Health Forum (the Forum). The Forum provides strategic advice on the priority
setting and work programme for the GLA Group Public Health Function, as well as
associated budget and workforce requirements. The Forum will be advisory, which
means that its recommendations or actions will be subject to OPDC’s own internal
governance and approval mechanisms. Where appropriate, these will be
documented in relevant decision reporting and reported to OPDC’s Senior
Management Team (SMT) and Board.

The Forum will at least initially be co-chaired by the Statutory Health Adviser and
the Mayor’s most senior health policy appointment. There will be representation
from across the GLA Group organisations. OPDC will sit on the Forum.

The Forum will meet quarterly. OPDC officers will update SMT quarterly in
preparation for and reporting from the Forum. The GLA Group Public Health
Function will report progress and issues to, and seek steers from, the appointed
representatives on the Forum.

Risks and issues

A mismatch between resource levels in the Public Health Function and OPDC
requirements for health input into projects could be a risk. This will be mitigated by
regular meetings with the GLA Group Director of Public Health and OPDC’s
attendance on the Forum.

OPDC must have ‘due regard’ to the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination,
harassment and victimisation as well as to the need to advance equality of
opportunity and foster good relations between people who share a protected
characteristic and those who do not.1 There are considered to be no adverse
impacts to those with protected characteristics arising from this decision.

Many of the population groups under section 149 of the Equality Act experience
health inequalities, as well as social and economic inequalities. Many of these
groups have in addition been disproportionately negatively impacted by the
COVID-19 pandemic. The advice provided by the GLA Group Public Health
Function is likely to have a positive impact on a number of groups with protected
characteristics.

None

No one involved in the preparation or clearance of this Form, or its substantive
proposal, has any conflict of interest.

The expenditure of up to £53,450 to fund the Public Health shared service
agreement (£26,725 per annum) will be funded from the Corporate Operations
Shared Services budgets for the 2022/23 and the 2023/24 financial years.

The costs for the first 2 years are fixed and are subject to an annual review
thereafter.

The foregoing sections of this report indicate that the decisions requested of the
Chief Executive Officer concern the exercise of the OPDC’s general powers, falling
within the OPDC’s statutory powers to do such things considered to further or that
are facilitative of, or conductive or incidental to, the promotion of economic
development and wealth creation, social development or improvement of the
environment, in Greater London.

In implementing the proposals in respect of which a decision is sought, officers
should comply with the OPDC’s related statutory duties to:

• pay due regard to the principle that there should be equality of opportunity for all people
• consider how the proposals will promote the improvement of health of persons, health inequalities between persons and to contribute towards the achievement of sustainable development in the United Kingdom
• consult with appropriate bodies.

In taking the decisions requested, as noted in section 6 above, the Chief Executive
Officer must have due regard to the Public Sector Equality Duty under section 149
of the Equality Act 2010, namely the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment,
victimisation and any other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act 2010; to advance
equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected
characteristic (race, disability, gender, age, sex, sexual orientation, religion or
belief, pregnancy and maternity, and gender reassignment) and persons who do
not share it; and to foster good relations between persons who share a relevant
protected characteristic and persons who do not share it. To this end, the Chief
Executive Officer should have particular regard to section 6 (above) of this report.
10.4 Section 1 of this report indicates that part of the sought budget will amount to the
provision of grant funding, and not payment for services. Officers must ensure that
the funding is distributed fairly; transparently; in accordance with the OPDC’s
equality policy and subsidy control rules; and in a manner that affords value for
money in accordance with the OPDC Contracts and Funding Code. Officers must
ensure that an appropriate funding agreement is put in place and executed by the
OPDC and the recipient before any commitment to funding is made.