Inventing our future Collective action for a sustainable economy

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Consultation process
Overview
Overseen by a Health Strategy Board 141 (with delegated authority from EERA) and with officer
support from a Technical Advisory Group, 142 Healthy Futures has been developed in an iterative
and consultative manner over a period of 18 months and involving well over 200 people. The
consultation draft of Healthy Futures was posted on EERA’s website on 22nd July 2005. In
amending it subsequently, serious account has been taken of the comments and insights
provided in response by a wide range of stakeholders.
Key elements of the various consultation processes are summarised below: the first of these
informed the development of the consultation draft while the other three have been in response
to the draft Strategy.
1) Early Stakeholder Workshop and Task Groups
An early Stakeholder Workshop was held in September 2004 and was well attended. This included
a plenary session and then split into three Task Groups. In line with the ‘life course’ approach,
these focused on children, young people and their families; people of working age; and older people.
Each of the Task Groups met on two further occasions and considered the nature of key regional issues
relating to particular stages in the life course and the opportunities for effective regional intervention.
2) Discussions on the consultation draft of Healthy Futures
Over the summer and early autumn 2005, officers from the East of England Public Health Group
met with a range of regional and sub-regional partnerships and groups to present and discuss the
consultation draft of Healthy Futures. Meetings were held, inter alia, with: the LSP Network, the
Regional Health Forum, various Local Authority Health Scrutiny Committees, the Age Concern Regional
Network, NHS public health networks, the Principal Youth Officers Network, the Regional Children’s
Leads, Future East, the Sustainable Development Round Table, Community and Voluntary Forum:
East of England (COVER), MENTER, the East of England Faiths Council, and the Board of GO-East.
3) Written responses to the consultation draft of Healthy Futures
In addition, written responses were invited on the consultation draft. By the end of October 2005, 39
responses had been received. Of these, around a third came from NHS organisations (principally PCTs
and SHAs) and two-thirds from a wide array of other agencies and organisations operating at regional
and sub-regional scales.
In the main, the written comments provided broad support for the draft document. Elements which
were identified as needing further development included: the action plan and arrangements for delivery
(particularly in relation to LSPs and Local Area Agreements), the opportunities surrounding the 2012
Olympics/Paralympics, issues relating to travel and transport, the challenges of isolation (particularly
among older people) and the issues relating to working age people outside of work/employment. In
amending the draft Strategy, we have attempted to take into account the full range of perspectives
that were set out in the consultation responses.
141 The Health Strategy Board was set up as a ‘task and finish’ group to develop the Regional Health Strategy. In terms of membership, it has
comprised several Non-Executive members of EERA, the Regional Director of Public Health, the director of ERPHO, a senior officer from HDA/NICE,
and officers from EERA.
142 The Technical Advisory Group has supported the Strategy’s development and it has included senior officers from Jobcentre Plus, Learning and Skills
Council, East of England Public Health Group, ERPHO, HDA/NICE, EEDA, EERA and GO-East.