Happy birthday, GLA

I’m not usually big on anniversaries, but it has been a big year for public health across the GLA Group. The Greater London Authority has reached a quarter of a century – 25 years since the regional strategic authority was established for the new millennium in 2000. The Mayor and Assembly have marked the occasion in many ways, prompting reflections on what has been achieved to protect and improve Londoners’ health through work across the GLA Group.

A lot has changed since Londoners elected their first Mayor of London.

When the GLA was established, life expectancy in London was 76 years for men and 81 years for women. Fast forward and a boy born in London in 2023 could look forward to another 4.7 years, and girls 3.9 years; the rate of deaths considered preventable from cardiovascular disease and cancer have declined steeply; and smoking prevalence is now half what it was in 2011. Great progress has been made.   

Data on healthy life expectancy was not available in 2000 but now shines a light on the importance of health equity and increasing the proportion of Londoners lives lived in good health - through prevention and by improving the foundations for good health.  Our Health Inequalities snapshot shows persistent and in some cases widening inequalities exacerbated by the pandemic and social, economic and environmental pressures.  

Five years ago a new virus emerged, leading to a global pandemic of COVID-19 infections and loss of lives and livelihoods.  Londoners were hit hard, and partners are learning lessons for future preparedness, response and recovery in London - including those emerging through the UK COVID inquiry.

Whichever way you look at it, the gap between healthy life expectancy and life expectancy is too wide – everyone deserves to live in a city that supports their physical and mental health, and with a health and care system that is there when they need it.     

The GLA Group has been working hard to play its part in creating the conditions for good health in London, and this year’s GLA Group collaboration – impact report 2025 highlights that collaboration for public health is now ‘business as usual’ for the Group.   

The public health unit has continued our support for the Mayor’s commitment to health in all policies (HiAP), working across his strategic programmes and developing skills and capabilities across teams and organisations. As part of this we have developed the GLA framework of levers for putting health at the heart of policy helping teams identify how they can progress action to understand, advocate for and act on priorities for health protection and improvement in London.  

Our annual report 2024-25  highlights examples of how this levers framework is being used in practice, across diverse priorities including improving air quality, tackling violence against women and girls, spatial planning, active travel, reducing drugs harms and rough sleeping. These HiAP commitments are also reflected in the Mayor’s Health Inequalities Strategy Implementation Plan 2025-2028.  

Partnerships and collaboration are key to what we do, both across the GLA Group and with our wider health and care system partners.

Examples of external collaborations this year include:

• Continuing to strengthen health resilience in London with our partners in local government, the NHS, UK Health Security Agency and Office of Health Improvement and Disparities – building on learning from the global COVID-19 pandemic five years on, and the Mayor’s climate adaptation review.

• Working with Transport for London to support publications of a London Association of Directors of Public Health active travel and health position statement.  highlighting the benefits of walking, wheeling and cycling.  Active travel is a key strategy for improving public health, increasing physical activity, reducing road danger, improving air quality, tackling climate change, connecting communities, and benefiting London’s economy.

• Developing the Mayoral Regions Programme: HiAP toolkit to support Combined Authorities across England to maximise their levers for health protection and improvement. Building on our experience in London, West Midlands and Manchester it covers pillars and opportunities for action, developing strategy, capturing progress and tools to self-assess and prioritise activity.

• Health is created in communities, and it was great to see Southwark Council's publication of a toolkit pulling to together learning from the School Superzones programme. Lots of transferrable learning here for neighbourhood health approaches as they develop.

Looking ahead, the national 10 Year Health Plan for England and English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill hold significant potential for health protection and improvement in London, including new ways of working with the health and care system.