Published: Friday 02nd February 2024 | 11.25am
Cannock Chase Council’s Cabinet have approved to spend £325,000 of funding received from the Staffordshire Contain Outbreak Management Fund (COMF) to reduce health inequalities across the district.
Three project bids were approved including £55,000 to tackle damp and mould issues in privately rented and owned homes, £55,000 to address mental health issues affecting tenants of multi-occupied homes (HMO’s) in the district and finally £215,000 to extend the successful work of Cannock Chase Can, the community based approach to improving health and the app developed by Cannock Chase Council and Inspiring Healthy Lifestyles.
The housing projects will be focused on four wards, which have been identified as having a high level of need, these are Cannock North, Cannock East, Rawnsley and Western Springs which combined have a population of 25,900 residents, this is 26% of the district. The Cannock Chase Can project will focus on these wards, but not to the exclusion of other areas.
The Council’s Environmental Health and Public Protection team currently respond to complaints about damp and mould in the private sector. This funding will enable them to take a proactive approach, working with partners to identify those residents likely to be living with damp and mould and work with their landlords to address the problems.
Research published demonstrates that health outcomes among tenants living in houses of multiple occupation (HMO) are among the poorest. The second project aims to engage with tenants in HMOs to address any physical hazards in the property and signpost those who are likely to experience mental health issues into appropriate services and activities.
The third project is an extension of an existing initiative, Cannock Chase Can, which has been shown to improve population health and has made a real impact on the lives of many residents of Cannock Chase. The funding will enable new projects to be developed with communities and improvements made to the app.
Councillor Jo Elson, Portfolio Leader for Community Wellbeing said “The causes of health inequalities are generally factors that positively or negatively influence our ability to be healthy. Such as smoking and diet, social deprivation, access to work and poor housing. The funding allocated will be used to deliver these three projects, which all have a clear focus on identifying and addressing health inequalities.”