Welcome to the Public Health Service for Cambridgeshire County Council
Stay Well This Winter
Cold weather affects the health and wellbeing of people who live in fuel poverty. The Stay Well This Winter programme aims to reduce the risks to those who live in cold homes.
What is Public Health?
Public Health is about helping people live longer, healthier lives. We focus on preventing illness, protecting people from harm, and creating the conditions where everyone can enjoy good health and wellbeing.
At Cambridgeshire County Council, our Public Health Service:
- commissions services such as the Healthy Child Programme, stop smoking support, NHS Health Checks, sexual health services, and drug and alcohol treatment. These services account for most of the Public Health Grant.
- works across the council and with partners in the NHS, district councils, schools, and community and voluntary groups to reduce health inequalities.
- provides expert advice to ensure health and wellbeing are built into decisions about housing, transport, education, planning, employment and more.
Our strategic priorities 2025–2030
Our new Public Health Strategic Plan sets out four areas of action to improve life expectancy and reduce health inequalities.
- Best start in life – supporting children and young people to grow up healthy, resilient, and ready to thrive.
- A healthy place to live and work – shaping environments, housing, employment and transport so they promote health and wellbeing.
- Addressing complex needs – working with partners to support people and communities experiencing multiple challenges.
- Prioritising ill health prevention – focusing on prevention across the life course, including tobacco, obesity, physical activity, alcohol, CVD and early detection.
How we work
We deliver this through strong foundations of public health practice.
- Health Protection – keeping people safe from infectious diseases and environmental hazards.
- Health Improvement – tackling inequalities and promoting healthier lifestyles with partners and communities.
- Healthcare Public Health – making sure health and care services meet the needs of our population.
- Public Health Intelligence – using data and evidence to understand needs and shape services.
We also take a whole-council approach to health equity and ill health prevention, guided by the Marmot Principles. This approach is built around three pillars of action:
- creating healthy places and environments.
- addressing the wider social determinants of health, such as housing, education and employment.
- ensuring prevention-focused services are available and accessible to those who need them most.
To find out more read the Public Health Strategic Plan.
