Corporate plan

• Life expectancy in Buckinghamshire is 81.5 years for men and 85.1 years for women (one of the highest in South East England).
• Only 39.7% of children and young people are meeting recommended levels of physical activity The life expectancy gap between the most and least deprived residents is 5.8 years for men and 6.1 years for women.
• 61% of adults are classified as overweight or obese.

People in Buckinghamshire live longer and healthier lives than the national average. We have strong communities and a thriving, dedicated not for profit sector.

Buckinghamshire is a healthy and inclusive place to live, work and visit, but we have a number of challenges. These include building more affordable homes now and for future generations, providing extra help and support for an increasingly older population and improving the health of people who live in the more deprived areas of Buckinghamshire. We also face the challenge of supporting our communities and residents to recover safely from the coronavirus pandemic.

We want:

• our residents to live independent, fulfilling lives, within strong, healthy, inclusive, and resilient communities
• to support existing business communities, especially our small to medium enterprises (SMEs), to grow and flourish
• to improve health and wellbeing, with a particular focus on reducing any gap in health outcomes
• to work more with town and parish councils, giving them the responsibility for services and assets where it makes sense to do so, and helping communities to help themselves
• to facilitate a ‘catch up programme’ for our young people, from the lost educational achievement which occurred during the coronavirus pandemic, particularly focusing on those most disadvantaged

Working with partners we will:

• enable and promote physical and mental health and healthier lifestyles, wellbeing and quality of life for people in Buckinghamshire including through our new Better Points initiative which rewards people getting active, and through our Health Libraries pilot which supports people’s mental and physical health through activities in their local library
• continue to develop our Leisure Strategy and seek to invest in our facilities where appropriate
• develop our strategy for Buckinghamshire Libraries to continue providing high-quality services which contribute to key local and national priorities
• tackle health inequalities, including the impact of Covid-19, through cultural, leisure and learning opportunities, by developing clear plans to reduce health inequalities
• encourage localism through our Community Boards, the devolution programme and working with local councils and voluntary community groups
• ensure we are keeping our residents regularly informed
• provide the affordable homes our growing communities need, including key workers
• continue our commitment to equality and inclusion, through engagement with ethnic minority communities including regular engagement with faith leaders and partnership events, celebrating the diversity within our communities
• maintain commitment to the armed forces and armed forces covenant and recognising Buckinghamshire’s proud and historic links to the armed forces
• strengthen and ensure there is a more consistent approach across the partnership that supports the early identification of and response to emerging problems that children, young people and their families face