Care City appointed to evaluate Westminster’s Healthy Communities Fund

We’ve been appointed by Westminster City Council‘s Public Health team to evaluate the impact of its Healthy Communities Fund, a £5 million investment in community-led approaches to improving health and tackling inequalities across the borough. 

The programme has funded 42 voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations to deliver projects that support residents to live healthier lives. It is already demonstrating the power of community-led approaches, delivering around 80 sessions each week and supporting approximately 3,250 attendances across Westminster.

Activities include culturally tailored health initiatives, community exercise programmes, healthy cooking and nutrition support, activities designed to reduce loneliness and isolation, and targeted work with communities experiencing some of the greatest health inequalities.

Alongside this, the council’s new Healthy Hearts initiative will build on this work by supporting 14 Healthy Communities Fund partners to deliver structured cardiovascular risk identification, personalised coaching, smoking cessation support and wider lifestyle interventions. 

At its heart is a simple but important idea: improving public health outcomes means working with communities, not just delivering services to them. 

The fund was created in response to feedback from residents, who said they wanted health support that felt more local, culturally relevant and delivered by people they know and trust. Rather than creating new services, Westminster has invested in organisations already embedded within their communities and best placed to understand local needs and challenges.

As evaluation partner, we will work alongside Westminster City Council and funded organisations to understand the difference these projects are making for residents, communities and the wider health and care system.

For Care City, the programme represents an important opportunity to explore the role that community organisations can play in improving health outcomes, reducing inequalities as well as building on our understanding of how this type of support can be delivered effectively.

“Communities have always been one of our most important health assets. Trusted local organisations often reach people in ways that traditional services cannot, helping to build relationships, confidence and healthier lives. We’re excited to work with Westminster and its community partners to understand the impact of this investment and share learning that can support community-led approaches elsewhere.”

James Sinclair, COO, Care City

The evaluation builds on Care City’s previous work examining the impact of community investment, including our evaluation of the Community Chest programme. Together, these programmes are helping to build evidence about how local authorities and the VCSE sector can work together to improve health and wellbeing.

The evaluation will explore not only outcomes for residents, but also how investment in community organisations can strengthen the capacity, skills and reach of the local VCSE sector, enabling it to play an even greater role in supporting healthier communities.

Importantly, Westminster’s ambition extends beyond short-term funding. As the Healthy Communities Fund comes to an end in December 2026, its legacy will live on through the new HealthWorks service, which will continue delivering lasting improvements to our residents’ health.  

We look forward to sharing learning and insights from the programme as the evaluation progresses.