Unprepared on public health? Speak for yourself, says Gloucestershire

There are a few people who would have you believe that local government taking a leading role in public health is something to be feared – that we're not ready for this responsibility, or that it will somehow become embroiled in local politics. Now a healthy dose of scepticism is sometimes a good thing – it keeps us all on our toes, after all – but it's hugely frustrating for those of us who know that this approach can really make a difference. Having all parts of the public sector all pulling together to improve people's lives: their health, their living conditions and their local environment. Surely that's a good thing? Here in Gloucestershire, this is something we've been building towards for a long time. We're nationally recognised for being ahead of the game when it comes to working together on public health initiatives. We've had a joint director of public health, shared between NHS Gloucestershire and the council, since 2007 and we're one of the local authorities piloting new health and wellbeing boards for the Department of Health. This board brings together councillors, health professionals and patient representatives from right across the county to identify and act on the actual needs of our communities, to make sure we're targeting the right support in the right areas. We're also well on the way to integrating health and social care generally, from services to staff and structures to backroom functions. This can save money and improve services, cutting down on gaps and overlaps and ensuring that we continue to cope as demand increases. After all, Gloucestershire's population is ageing faster than most. In other words, we know we're ready and, more than that, we're looking forward to leading the public health agenda locally. We've a lot of expertise and experience to add to the mix, and with the continued support of our health colleagues, we're confident of success. We know that simply telling people how to live their lives doesn't always work; we also need to provide them with support and services to encourage them to make healthy choices, whether that's help to stop smoking, sexual health advice or tackling obesity. It's much broader than that, though. People are going to have to take more responsibility for staying active and well for as long as possible. It sounds simple enough on paper, but the reality is that a lot of the people who need this help the most are our most vulnerable residents, often living in deprived or isolated communities. There's a lot of work still to be done in addressing these inequalities, but with the expertise which we can bring from tackling these issues in other service areas, councils are arguably the best placed to take on that challenge. There will always be doom merchants when it comes to change, but I firmly believe this is a change for the good, and that we'll be ready for it. Andrew Gravells is councillor and cabinet member for health and wellbeing at Gloucestershire county council and former chair of the health, community and care overview scrutiny committee This content is brought to you by Guardian Professional. Join the local government network for more comment and analysis direct to your inbox