London Borough of Lewisham: Year 2 (July-October 2020) update

The Childhood Obesity Trailblazer Programme is funded by the Department and Health and Social Care and administered by the Local Government Association. Public Health England also providing expert support and advice. Lewisham plans to test its powers to restrict high in fat, salt or sugar (HFSS advertising and utilise donated outdoor advertising space for health promoting advertisements.


Progress

  • Work resumed on the on the co-production of the first campaign by the Young Mayor’s team. Virtual meetings of the young advisors to develop concepts for the first campaign materials. Agreed that message to be refined to reflect the impact of covid on local food businesses, less focus on joining Sugar Smart and more focus on celebrating our local culture and working together. Posters to be displayed on OOH estate in October.
  • Apprentice appointed to support the Trailblazer programme.
  • Meeting of the partnership steering group resumed in September and dates have been set for the next quarter.
  • Lewisham’s Health and Wellbeing Board (HWBB) has made addressing Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) health inequalities one of its main priorities for the next three years. Three specific areas of BAME health inequality have been selected to focus on: mental health, cancer and obesity. The Trailblazer work has been included in the action plan and this will help secure continued engagement and commitment from community partners.
  • A programme of insight work delivered by community organisations in Lewisham on physical activity, nutrition and obesity to understand BAME communities’ own views on these inequalities is taking place July- December and the findings will help inform future campaigns.
  • Joint collaboration established between Lewisham and Birmingham public health to perform investigation into Black African and Black Caribbean Health Inequalities. This was initially facilitated through the Trailblazer work and obesity is one area to be reviewed as part of the collaboration.

Challenges

  • National impact of COVID-19 on the OOH advertising estate has affected the progress of the project. JCDecaux stopped posting activity during lockdown, advertising is resuming but there is uncertainty of future restrictions and challenges for next quarter. 
  • Changing from in-person workshops to virtual methods to develop co-production advertising material

Next steps

  • Agreement on evaluation measures to be conducted, including potential stocktake survey in December in place of interim evaluation
  • Finalise the procurement of the delivery partner
  • First co-production campaign to go live in November
  • Sub-group to finalise the brief to commission future campaigns.
  • Lewisham Council’s Communication team to review communications plan for the Trailblazer and timings of when campaign materials can be displayed across the whole council estate
  • Monthly steering group meeting set for next quarter