Wokingham seeks to become a “Marmot” borough in order to tackle health inequalities.

At a meeting of Wokingham Borough Council on Thursday 19 January, councillors voted to adopt a proposal for Wokingham to become a “Marmot” borough in order to reduce health inequalities and give everyone better opportunities and life chances.

The proposal came from Prue Bray, the Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader of Wokingham Borough Council and is based on recommendation from a report produced by Professor Michael Marmot in 2010 called “Fair Society, Healthy Lives”.

That report showed that there is an association between health and wealth, and that tackling poverty and tackling poor health should be done together, along with promoting sustainability. The first step towards becoming a Marmot borough is to formally adopt the six principles recommended by the report to guide council decision making. They are:

• Give every child the best start in life

• Enable all children, young people and adults to maximise their capabilities and have control over their lives

• Create fair employment and good work for all

• Ensure healthy standard of living for all

• Create and develop healthy and sustainable places and communities

• Strengthen the role and impact of ill-health prevention

Prue Bray, Deputy Leader of Wokingham Borough Council said,

“The good news is that many of the things Professor Marmot suggests are things the council is already aiming to do. Following these principles will produce the best outcomes for people, and make the most efficient use of scarce resources to help those who need it the most, and ensure we all have a thriving future.”