A special parliamentary event marking 150 years since the landmark Public Health Act 1875 has brought renewed attention to the need for establishing an All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Environmental Health.
The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) hosted the commemorative reception in the Houses of Parliament, welcoming MPs, policy makers, and key sector stakeholders to reflect on the enduring influence of the 1875 Act and its relevance to the environmental health challenges of today.
Speakers highlighted the critical and wide-ranging role environmental health plays across housing standards, food safety and regulation, air quality, noise control, public protection, and prevention, as well as emphasising environmental health teams’ vital contribution to safeguarding public health and the UK economy.
The occasion also provided a timely platform for CIEH to restate its call for an APPG on Environmental Health. Such a group, CIEH argues, would give environmental health a stronger political voice and help ensure the UK Government can meet its environmental and public health commitments.
The reception was hosted by Baggy Shanker, MP for Derby South, who opened the event. He was followed by speeches from CIEH Chief Executive Fran McCloskey, CIEH Vice President and former MP Joan Walley, and CIEH President Mark Elliott, who closed the proceedings.
While the event looked back at the far-reaching legacy of the Public Health Act 1875, it also looked ahead to the growing challenges environmental health professionals will need to tackle to protect their communities.
Fittingly, the reception took place during National Apprenticeship Week, and CIEH was pleased to welcome environmental health apprenticeship students from Middlesex University among its guests, representing the next generation who will carry this vital work forward.
(From left) David Williams, MP for Stoke-on-Trent North who attended the event, Joan Walley, CIEH Vice President and former Stoke-on-Trent North MP, Fran McCloskey, CIEH Chief Executive Officer and Baggy Shanker, MP for Derby South, who hosted the reception.
Joan Walley, CIEH Vice President, said:
“I was honoured to speak at CIEH’s parliamentary reception marking 150 years of the Public Health Act 1875, a landmark piece of legislation that laid the foundations for safer housing, improved sanitation, food safety, and healthier communities.
“The reformers of the 19th century refused to accept that unsafe living conditions were inevitable. They recognised a truth that feels even more relevant today: that health is shaped not only by medicine, but by the environments in which people live, work, learn, and play.
Baggy Shanker, Derby South MP who hosted the reception, said:
“It was a pleasure to join CIEH in marking 150 years since the Public Health Act 1875 — a moment to recognise both how far environmental health has come and the vital role it plays today.
“My time in local government showed me just how profoundly environmental health shapes people’s lives: from housing standards and food safety to the air we breathe, and the environments children grow up in.
Lily Allen, Environmental Health Apprentice at Middlesex University who works at Sevenoaks District Council alongside her studies, said:
“It was a pleasure to attend CIEH’s parliamentary reception celebrating the 150th anniversary of the 1875 Public Health Act and the vital contribution of environmental health.
“With National Apprenticeship Week coinciding with this event, I feel compelled to reflect on my ongoing journey as an environmental health apprentice. I am so grateful for the opportunities and experiences I have been offered and continue to seek out new ones to prepare me for a rewarding career where I can make a real difference.
People can find out how to support CIEH’s campaign for an APPG on environmental health here
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