National award for project addressing sex workers’ health inequalities

The project, ‘From needs assessment to action: embedding sex worker equity in Birmingham’, won the Public and Population Health category at the Local Government Chronicle (LGC) Awards 2026.

Members of the Inclusion Health team from Birmingham City Council’s Public Health Division, who delivered the project, collected their award at a ceremony in London on Wednesday 10th June.

The programme saw the team deliver evidence-based system change to address sex workers’ health inequalities, utilising data from the 2024 Sex Worker Analysis of Health Needs (SWAN) to reshape commissioning, improve multi-agency collaboration, improve access to services, strengthen data and reduce stigma.

The SWAN research identified a number of areas requiring action, including:

• High levels of unmet sexual, physical and mental health needs
• A multi-directional relationship between trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance misuse
• A history of stigma and discrimination within healthcare, leading to distrust and avoidance
• Practical barriers related to service accessibility, safety and inflexible delivery models 

Supported by the city’s participation in the national Connecting Health Communities (CHC) programme, the team led a collaboration with sex workers, statutory and community based services, working together as Birmingham’s Sex Worker Health Partnership to design tangible service improvements, which it continues to deliver today.

Award judges praised the ‘groundbreaking’ programme for being ‘courageous, compelling and genuinely innovative’, commenting that they were ‘hugely impressed by its compassion, ambition and originality’ and noting that the initiative was ‘transforming lives and reshaping perception’.

Councillor Nosheen Khalid, Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care at Birmingham City Council, said: “As part of Birmingham’s wider commitment to inclusion health and a population health approach, the council recognises sex workers as a frequently overlooked group experiencing some of the poorest health outcomes and inequalities in the city, so I am delighted that the positive action being taken to address this has been recognised on a national level with this award.

“My congratulations to the Inclusion Health team for their hard work in turning research into action that is already making a significant positive impact, and also for their ongoing commitment and perseverance to ensuring that the city’s most marginalised populations are able to access the services and support that best meets their needs.”

Sally Burns, Director of Public Health at Birmingham City Council, said: “Winning this award is fantastic news for the team and for the city as a whole, as it demonstrates the importance of compassion and co-production in addressing the needs and breaking the cycle of disadvantage and stigma affecting the most marginalised communities.

“We know from the research that informed this innovative piece of work that doing nothing is simply not an option because of the devastating and costly consequences this can have for individuals’ lives and wider society as a whole, so I’m pleased that we are taking action to ensure better health outcomes.”