Health Inequalities Fund Guidelines
for Basildon and Brentwood
Opening 6th January 2025 for projects starting from April 2025, and will remain open until all funds have been exhausted.
> Health-Inequalities-Fund-application-form-2025-2026
> Health Inequalities Fund Guidance and Criteria 2025-2026
BACKGROUND
Brentwood Community and Voluntary Service (CVS) and Basildon, Billericay and Wickford Council for Voluntary Service have partnered with The Mid and South Essex (MSE) Integrated Care Partnership (ICP) to administer the local Health Inequalities Fund in 2025-26. The ICP Strategy sets out the common endeavour of reducing inequalities together. Health inequalities are the avoidable differences in health and care outcomes that exist between different groups within our society. This funding opportunity will help to provide support for a wide range of projects and programmes to tackle health inequalities and the wider determinants of health.
In this work, we recognise certain key groups who are especially disadvantaged, as expressed in the Core20PLUS5 approach https://www.england.nhs.uk/about/equality/equality-hub/national-healthcare-inequalities-improvement-programme/core20plus5/
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE FUND
The main objective of the Health Inequalities funding is to support projects that take an innovative and collaborative approach to reducing health inequalities and the unwarranted variation that exists.
The aims of the Health Inequalities Fund 2025/26 are as follows:
- Improving population health and health care.
- Tackling inequalities in outcomes, experience and access.
- Enhancing productivity and value for money.
- Helping the NHS to support broader social and economic development.
To achieve these aims it is the intention of the fund to:
- seek innovative and collaborative approaches to the delivery of high-impact measurable changes in equality across Basildon and Brentwood, seeking to address the underlying causes of health inequality at a local level.
- target and reach out proactively to our most deprived communities, plus groups that align with the clinical priorities for adults, children and young people.
- develop solutions that are population focussed – breaking down barriers between statutory and non-statutory organisations and the residents they serve.
- strive to be financially sustainable.
- be delivered during 2025/26.
- embed robust evaluation that identifies the outcomes and impact of the health inequalities funding including case studies for sharing across the system and nationally
FUNDING
No minimum or maximum.
WHO CAN APPLY
Any non-profit voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise organisation operating across Basildon and/or Brentwood boroughs. Local authorities are also eligible to apply to this fund.
TIME FRAME
Applications are accepted both online and via word document and will be open until all funds are exhausted.
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
This funding programme is to support projects or initiatives, both new and existing, that address health inequalities and the wider determinants of health within your local area. Health inequalities refers to the differences in the care that people receive and the opportunities that they have to lead healthy lives. Health Inequalities grants could therefore be focused on reducing differences in:
- health status, for example, life expectancy.
- access to care, for example, availability of given services.
- quality and experience of care, for example, levels of patient satisfaction.
- behavioural risks to health, for example, smoking rates.
- wider determinants of health, for example, quality of housing, employment, environment, training, and education.
They could also be focused on supporting individuals or groups that may experience poorer health outcomes due to:
- socio-economic factors, for example, income, level of deprivation.
- geography, for example, region or whether urban or rural.
- specific characteristics including those protected in law, such as sex, ethnicity, or disability.
- socially excluded groups, for example, people experiencing homelessness.
For more information on work to reduce health inequalities in Mid and South Essex (includes Basildon & Brentwood) please see https://www.midandsouthessex.ics.nhs.uk/work/health-inequalities/
PROCESS
- Confirm you meet the application criteria above.
- Apply online by following this link – https://forms.gle/454Dripvxkt1caEw9 or via word document.
- The local CVS will quality-check the applications for submission to the panel.
Applicants may be contacted for clarification or missing information. - The local funding panel will meet monthly to review applications and provide an approved/declined outcome. The panel consists of representatives from Basildon District Council, Brentwood Borough Council, Public Health, Brentwood & Basildon Alliance and NHS Clinical Lead. Basildon, Billericay & Wickford CVS and Brentwood CVS assist the panel, but do not have decision making powers.
- The panel decision is final.
- Successful applications will be contacted to discuss due diligence checks, payment schedules, required support, and monitoring expectations which will formulate a grant agreement including any terms & conditions.
- Complete the signing of the grant agreement and administer funds.
- Monitoring required on completion (or agreed timescales) of the project to share outcomes and impact.
SUPPORT
If you would like to access support to complete your application, please contact:
- Arsen at funding@brentwoodcvs.org.uk if you are based in Brentwood.
- Janine at connect@bbwcvs.org.uk if based within Basildon.