Health and Wellbeing
in partnership with Essex County Council
The Health & Wellbeing movement is fundamental to Essex County Council’s strategic plan. For this moment to succeed, Local Councils must engage with their activities. By involving the closest level of government with the citizenry, Health & Wellbeing can have a real, positive impact on people’s lives.
The EALC therefore, enthusiastically support initiatives of local government which encourage residents to understand the benefits of Health & Wellbeing. Town & Parish Councils need to support their communities by providing information on signposting, mental health issues and the advocacy of new Health & Wellbeing plans.
Please find below recent publications from Essex County Council, as part of the Government's Plan- Levelling Up the United Kingdom. The resources section at the bottom has some useful links with information to share to those who need support, or guidance on how to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Levelling Up Essex- An Essex White Paper
In January 2022, Essex County Council had produced a booklet called ‘Levelling Up Essex- An Essex White Paper’ which sets out how they will support people living in priority areas of the county to benefit from the same opportunities and life chances as the wider Essex population.
Cost of Living Support
The ‘Cost of Living Support for Households and Communities’ is a publication which has been released in September 2022. This sets out the Council’s approach to addressing the short-term response, medium-term resilience and longer-term root causes of the cost of living challenge. The policy paper sets out a six-point plan on cost of living focused on: paying for essentials; keeping warm; eating well; money management; information, advice and guidance; and well-being.
impact Report
ECC's approach has been informed by insight gathered through The Purpose Coalition and is outlined in the Levelling Up Impact Report.
Resources
Citizen's Advice
Citizens Advice offers advice on a variety of subjects, including: benefits, debt, money, bills, work, housing, family, scams and compensation. You can visit their website for information or call their adviceline direct.
Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm: call 0800 144 8848
Out of hours telephone: 0808 250 5724
The out of hours telephone is available Monday to Friday, 4pm to 8pm Saturday, 9am to 1pm
Check their website for more ways to contact Citizens Advice.
Help for Households
We know people are worried about rising costs and may be struggling. The government is offering support to help residents save money on energy bills below-
https://helpforhouseholds.campaign.gov.uk/
Money, Debt and Benefits
All money and debt problems can be solved and there are lots of organisations that offer free help.
These can be found here-
https://www.essex.gov.uk/help-cost-living/debt-and-money-advice
Health Assured
Part of your member affiliation for 2023/24 includes access to Health Assured for the Clerks of all our member councils. Health Assured is an employee assistance programme that provides compassionate care and support to over 15 million lives across 50,000 organisations. The EALC is committed to providing Health and Wellbeing support across the sector and this programme helps us to deliver this.
https://www.healthassured.org/
Live Well Essex
All 13 Essex district councils and partners have come together to collaborate on the health and wellbeing agenda and work towards achieving better health outcomes for people across Essex.
The livewell campaign was created to promote healthy messages and support everyone in Essex (communities, families and individuals) to help improve their physical and mental wellbeing.
More information-
NHS Wellbeing Advice
NHS advice about healthy living, including eating a balanced diet, healthy weight, exercise, quitting smoking and drinking less alcohol-