To ask the Minister of Health to detail any steps his Department is taking to improve healthy life expectancy in (i) Northern Ireland; and (ii) North Down, specifically.

Making Life Better (MLB) is the Executive’s overarching strategic framework to improve health and address health inequalities. It was developed based on the evidence that health and wellbeing, and health inequalities, are shaped by many factors including age, family, community, workplace, beliefs and traditions, economics, and physical and social environments. Many of these are outside the control of the Department of Health.

MLB is underpinned by a range of public health strategies and policies which focus on specific issues, such as substance use, suicide prevention, tobacco use and obesity prevention. These policies also have a focus on health inequalities and are implemented on the ground by the Public Health Agency (PHA) throughout Northern Ireland. Within the Health Inequalities Team in PHA a range of interventions are commissioned across Health & Social Care Trusts, Councils and the Community & Voluntary sector to tackle health inequalities.

The PHA fund a number of statutory and community & voluntary organisations within the North Down locality which have a specific focus on reducing health inequalities. These include:

Peninsula Healthy Living Centre;

North Down Community Network;

Ards Community Network and Development Bureau; and

A health & wellbeing project delivered by the South Eastern Health & Social Care Trust.

These organisations deliver a wide range of health and wellbeing activities with a focus on improving physical activity, nutrition and mental health. The organisations use community development approaches in tackling health inequalities and reach a large number of people living in communities across Ards & North Down.