A report led by Professor Sir Michael Marmot argues that businesses can play a major part in improving the social determinants of health. It offers more than previous failed attempts by government to put business at the forefront of public health strategy.

In 2011, the coalition government launched the Public Health Responsibility Deal (PHRD), ‘to tap into the potential for businesses and other organisations to improve public health and tackle health inequalities through their influence over food, alcohol, physical activity and health in the workplace’¹. It relied on voluntary commitments – no need for legislation or costly enforcement. In 2013, it launched a PHRD expressly for the construction sector² – the first for a specific industry – and 111 firms signed up. As far as I can ascertain, there were no published outcome measures, no audits and no follow-up…

 John Ballard, editor