Collaboration for Health Equity and Scotland’s Marmot Places

That the Parliament notes the publication of the report, A Fairer, Healthier Scotland: A Collaboration for Health Equity, by the University College London's Institute for Health Equity, led by Professor Michael Marmot; further notes the institute's partnership with Public Health Scotland to support three Collaboration for Health Equity (CHES) places, Aberdeen City, North Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire; notes that the report was publicly launched at the Hamilton Family Hub in Burnbank, in South Lanarkshire, on 13 October 2026 where Community Planning partners are piloting new approaches for the early years and childhood aligned with the first of eight Marmot principles and where South Lanarkshire Council, NHS Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire Integration Joint Board have jointly committed £8 million to child poverty, early years and developing prevention activity, with £2 million ring-fenced for third sector and community partners; further notes that the eight Marmot Principles for Health Equity are to give every child the best start in life, to enable all children, young people and adults to maximise their capabilities and have control over their lives, to create fair employment and good work for all, to ensure healthy standard of living for all, to create and develop healthy and sustainable places and communities, to strengthen the role and impact of ill health prevention, to tackle racism, discrimination and their outcomes and to pursue environmental sustainability and health equity together; understands that the report reinforces the view that health inequalities are largely driven by the social determinants of health, which are understood as the conditions of daily life that shape health, including income, housing, work and education; further understands that work with three collaborating areas tests new approaches to addressing the social determinants of health and strengthening health equity; believes that the recommendations of the report could inform future decision-making and encourage policymakers to consider why ambitions to improve health equity have not always translated into action at the scale or to the pace required, and further believes that the recommendations of the report in favour of action to address the structural drivers of health inequities and to deliver for health equity, including through a ‘total place’ approach, are relevant and timely as consideration is given to rewiring public services and the future of public service reform.