About Oxfordshire a Marmot Place
Oxfordshire’s commitment to improving health and reducing inequalities through the Marmot approach
Oxfordshire launched as a Marmot Place in 2024, demonstrating a commitment to bringing local organisations together with the common goal to address health inequalities.
Health is affected by everyday life: where we are born, how we grow up, where we live, the work we do, and how we age. These conditions are not the same for everyone in Oxfordshire.
Oxfordshire experiences significant and avoidable health inequalities, with marked gaps in life expectancy driven largely by factors such as education, housing, employment, and access to healthy food.
In Oxfordshire, people in more deprived areas live approximately four to six years less on average. This rises to about seven years for men and nine years for women between the most and least advantaged areas.
Being a Marmot Place means taking action to improve health for everyone, while providing extra support where it is needed most to reduce unfair differences in health and wellbeing.
The Marmot Approach
The Marmot approach builds on the good work already happening across Oxfordshire. Supported by expert guidance from the Institute of Health Equity at University College London, it focuses on understanding where inequalities exist, measuring progress, and finding better ways to support people.
Local charities, community groups and voluntary organisations are central to this work. They support people every day and help make a real difference in reducing inequality across the county.
Find out about collective ongoing work to address health inequalities by visiting the Oxfordshire 2025-26 Director of Public Health Report interactive online website.