Public health teams returned to local government in 2012. Ten years on, Louise Marshall and Alexander Allen set out six elements of a whole-council approach to building improving health

Ten years ago, the 2012 Health and Social Care Act recognised and strengthened the role of local government in improving health. The act returned public health teams to local government, from a long period away in the NHS, and increased the public health responsibilities of local government for their communities. A decade on, the vital role of local government as leaders for health has again been recognised by Government in the 2022 Levelling Up White Paper.