Falkirk Council

The health of the people in our area is improving and has been for the last 10 years. We recognise that ensuring people have the best possible life chances is predicated on good health, safety and wellbeing.

While overall people's health is improving, there are problems associated with ill health that have deep-rooted causes that cannot be solved quickly. Poor health impacts on people's chances of employment, income, socialisation and community participation. Ill health is not a problem solely for the health service. While we must make sure our partners provide the essential services people require when they are unwell, we have a responsibility for supporting and providing opportunities for people to improve their own health through the provision of leisure, sports and social activities.

Everyone wants to feel safe in the area they live in. While the Falkirk Council area is one of the safest in Scotland, we understand our citizens do have concerns about their personal safety, particularly at night. Vandalism, graffiti and other forms of antisocial behaviour have an impact on people's quality of life. As a Council we have a responsibility for making sure people who are victims of such behaviour are protected and listened to, while at the same time ensuring the perpetrators of such crimes understand fully the consequences of their actions.

The structure, geography and economy of our area have also posed some significant risks that we must manage and address with our public and private partners.

Some of our most vulnerable citizens require support and care to stay in their own homes and communities. As our population ages we must ensure our essential care and support services meet the challenges this poses. We also have a key responsibility to ensure our most vulnerable children are protected and thrive.

Our citizens will be supported to make positive health choices and lifestyles in order they can live longer

Our citizens will be supported to make positive health choices and lifestyles in order that they can live longer

This will be demonstrated by:

We will achieve this by:

offering increased opportunities to participate in physical activity reducing harmful and underage substance misuse promoting a healthy diet reducing individual stress and therefore the reliance on prescribed drugs

providing opportunities to participate in sports, leisure and physical activity in a variety of settings offering healthy food choices in all our premises taking forward the work of the substance action team promoting a good work/ life balance ensuring the safety of our estates and green spaces continuing to improve our paths network and open spaces further developing our approach to health and wellbeing

People will have equitable access to local health, support and care

People will have euitable access to local health, support and care

This will be demonstrated by:

We will achieve this by:

developing services through local health centres and community hospitals supporting the opening of the new acute hospital improving access to services and facilities for disabled people ensuring consistent access to children's services at a local level

identifying further areas of service integration with NHS Forth Valley through the Community Health Partnership participating in a pilot Social Enterprise Health Trust promoting and supporting the development and delivery of modern facilities for health and social care continuing to improve access to our premises for disabled people ensuring all our schools are health promoting implementing locality based children's teams

Our citizens and communities will be encouraged to take responsibility for their own health and wellbeing

Our citizens and communities wull be encouraged to take responsibility for their own health and wellbeing

This will be demonstrated by:	We will achieve this by:
improving levels of attendance at school ensuring older people feel supported at the heart of their communities encouraging people to be motivated, involved and empowered reducing antisocial behaviour and bullying	providing diversionary activities for young people consulting people in order that they can influence decisions on care services supporting people to take more control of their packages of care developing our community wardens services developing community activities that include older people providing a network of facilities for young people

Our citizens will be protected

Our citizens will be protected

This will be demonstrated by:

We will achieve this by:

ensuring positive outcomes for looked-after children ensuring civil contingency arrangements are robust reducing accidents on our roads ensuring our citizens are advised how to minimise their risks promoting activities that work across generations ensuring people feel safer

providing wrap around family support services developing a specific retirement community developing a therapeutic unit further developing our enforcement teams supporting our looked-after children through full time education reducing the contamination of land in our area promoting safer routes to schools further developing our flood protection arrangements ensuring robust emergency planning arrangements are in place