The London Borough of Camden (/ˈkæmdən/) is a London borough in Inner London. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies 1.4 mi (2.3 km) north of Charing Cross. The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from the area of the former boroughs of Hampstead, Holborn, and St Pancras — which together, prior to that date, had comprised part of the historic County of London. The cultural and commercial land uses in the south contrast with the bustling mixed-use districts such as Camden Town and Kentish Town in the centre and leafy residential areas around Hampstead Heath in the north. Well known attractions include The British Museum, The British Library, the famous views from Parliament Hill, the London Zoo, the BT Tower, The Roundhouse and Camden Market. In 2019 it was estimated to have a population of 270,000.The local authority is Camden London Borough Council.
Background The public health grant is used by upper-tier and unitary local authorities in England to fund public health services. Public health grant allocations have declined by 26% per person since 2015/16, with cuts being made without any adjustment based on population needs, resulting in absolute cuts often being greater for more deprived local authorities. This study seeks to investigate how these cuts have affected spending decisions across different areas of public health and how changes in spend relate to population health needs. Methods In this longitudinal ecological study, data on local government revenue expenditure and financing to 146 upper-tier local authorities in England were extracted from the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government for the years 2017/18, 2018/19 2019/20 and 2022/23. Demand for each function of the public health grant was proxied using a publicly available indicator of need. Descriptive analyses explored changes to grant expenditure over time by function and IMD quintile. A compositional regression model was developed to account for the relatedness of spend data. The significance of associations between indicators of need and spend on functions of the grant was tested using MANOVA, producing Pillai's Trace statistics as an indication of the effect size of each explanatory variable relative to others. Findings Public health grant spending reductions were widespread. More deprived local authorities often experienced deeper absolute cuts against a backdrop of greater need, with spend being protected across all IMD quintiles in only three areas: children's 0 to 5 non prescribed functions, health protection, and public mental health. In the multivariate regression, there was limited relationship between indicators of health need and patterns of grant spend between public health categories. Interpretation There is no clear relationship between potential indicators of need and expenditure of the public health grant in different reporting categories. Instead, spending decisions are being driven by other factors that may include historic spend, wider local priorities and financial pressures. These findings suggest a review of the public health grant formula to support local authority public health teams to more strategically apportion spend based on population health need. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. ### Funding Statement This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors. ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: Data were available to the public before the initiation of this study. Data can be downloaded from Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, Office for national statistics and the Department of Health and Social Cre (Fingertips). I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable. Yes Technical appendix, statistical code, and datasets are available from the Github repository emendel2023/PH\_grant\_project
Developmental follow-up is a necessary part of neonatal care to identify additional support needs but also to allow national surveillance and research. Follow-up at 4 years of age enables assessment before school entry, allowing schools to be ready for and support children and their families. This is not currently routine across the UK despite the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommendations in 2017. This best practice guide was developed by the British Association for Neonatal Neurodevelopmental Follow-Up, a special interest group of the British Association of Perinatal Medicine.This framework supports clinicians developing and delivering a 4-year developmental follow-up service for children whose neonatal experiences put them at risk of developmental conditions or additional learning needs. This should include as a minimum those born before 28 weeks' gestation and infants with moderate to severe neonatal encephalopathy. Infants with risk factors for developmental problems should also be considered.This framework recommends assessment of developmental domains including physical development and growth, cognitive development, emotional and behavioural development, sensory needs, speech, language and communication skills, social skills and relationships. A summary report should be shared with caregivers and key individuals in health, education and social care. This should describe the child's strengths and needs to support transition into and throughout education.Specific service arrangements will vary depending on local resources and existing services. This framework provides guidance for clinical teams to enhance follow-up for children whose early experiences put them at risk of challenges, facilitating lifelong learning, participation and well-being.
Addressing the global obesity crisis requires health systems that move beyond prevention to include care and treatment. However, translating global policy into national implementation remains challenging. Through the WHO Acceleration Plan to Stop Obesity, 34 countries committed to reducing the prevalence of obesity by 5% by 2030. Using the plan's operational model, we applied a policy and impact cycle and created a 100-day challenge platform, to support 12 countries to integrate and scale chronic obesity care within their health systems. This paper captures the approaches, system design, progress, and lessons in expanding access to chronic obesity care across the life course. Results show that political commitment, structured implementation, and targeted technical support enabled rapid progress in service design and delivery readiness. Stakeholder engagement, community participation, and data-driven planning emerged as key enablers of success. The countries in this study provide a blueprint for embedding obesity care at scale, underscoring the need for a coordinated global response.
China’s proposal of the concept of New Quality Productive Forces (NQPF) underscores the growing importance of scientific innovation, industrial upgrading, and high-caliber human capital in driving high-quality development. Against this backdrop, this study investigates the strategic value of vocational education in supporting and shaping the formation of New Quality Productive Forces. It argues that vocational education has moved beyond its conventional function of cultivating operationally skilled workers and has become an essential institutional force that links technological innovation with industrial application, promotes intelligent and green transformation across sectors, and enhances governance modernization. Despite its rising strategic importance, vocational education still confronts several deep-rooted structural challenges, including persistent mismatches between talent supply and emerging industrial demands, pronounced regional disparities in educational quality, insufficient industrial experience among teachers, lagging curriculum renewal mechanisms, and fragmented governance structures. To overcome these constraints, the paper proposes an integrated reform framework that emphasizes system-level restructuring, more substantive industry–education integration, the development of dual-qualified teaching teams, accelerated digital and intelligent curriculum transformation, and modernized governance mechanisms. The analysis concludes that vocational education serves not only as a foundational support system for New Quality Productive Forces but also as a critical strategic driver of China’s modernization. By aligning talent cultivation with technological trajectories and industrial evolution, vocational education holds the potential to significantly enhance innovation capacity, industrial competitiveness, and inclusive social development.
