On Friday 22nd August we submitted our response to the call for views on Public Health Scotland’s (PHS) Strategy from 2025-2035. The closing date for responses is Friday 29th August, and responses should be sent to phs.strategicdevelopment@phs.scot. In our response, we largely reflect on the Key Messages from a consultation event we hosted jointly with PHS on the 13th May, whilst also bringing in views shared by our members in more recent engagement.
PHS have committed to engaging meaningfully with the third sector in the design and implementation of this strategy, which is welcome. However, the key message from our members is that the PHS strategy must explicitly state how they will champion and support the third sector as an equal partner in the realisation of public health ambitions. Currently, our members are reporting unsustainable funding, challenges accessing relevant data, and barriers to participating in decision-making from wider public sector partners. PHS have the opportunity, though this strategy, to address this imbalance of power.
Our response explores the questions posed by PHS in the consultation through four headings: Engagement and Collaboration, Language, Data, and Implementation.
For more information on this response, please contact our Policy and Public Affairs Lead, Sarah Latto, on sarah.latto@vhscotland.org.uk.
