“Support where men feel comfortable” is how ministers frame a new push on men’s health, as the Department of Health and Social Care teams up with Movember and People’s Health Trust on a £6.3m programme. Health Secretary Wes Streeting said support would be offered “in places they feel most comfortable” - trusted community settings.

The Men’s Health Community Fund brings £3m from government, with Movember and People’s Health Trust more than doubling that pot to £6.3m. The scheme will put voluntary, community and social enterprise groups in the lead to test practical ways of reaching men and boys aged 16 and over who are least likely to use traditional services.

Backers say grants will focus on key moments that can knock men off course: becoming a dad, losing a job, or stepping into retirement. Projects can also tackle loneliness and isolation, strengthen young men’s links with the health system, and support men whether in work, out of work or moving between the two.

For the North - where many of England’s toughest health outcomes are concentrated - the promise is simple: funding that backs what local groups know already works. From clubhouses and barbers to boxing gyms, places of worship and allotment sheds, this is outreach built for towns and city districts far from Whitehall.

An evaluation, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research, will run alongside delivery so there is hard evidence on what sticks and why. That matters to Northern organisations who have long argued for investment that respects local voice and proves impact without drowning small teams in paperwork.

Streeting acknowledged that too many men, especially in disadvantaged communities, are living shorter, less healthy lives. He framed the partnership as a key step in delivering England’s first Men’s Health Strategy and in driving the ambition to halve the gap in healthy life expectancy between the richest and poorest areas.

Movember’s UK chief executive Michelle Terry said almost every community has lost men too soon and noted the charity has spent more than two decades going to where men are. The partnership, she said, will scale and learn from organisations rooted in their communities while embedding approaches that work for men across health systems.

People’s Health Trust chief executive John Hume called the programme a way to reach men at the sharpest end of poor health by designing support with them and through people they trust. Improving men’s health, he argued, lifts families, communities and businesses - a message Northern employers and unions have pressed for years.

Alongside the fund, ministers confirmed £3.6m over three years for suicide prevention projects focused on middle‑aged men in places where risk is highest. Government also points to the expansion of mental health teams in schools, with an additional 900,000 pupils due to have access by April 2026.

Northern VCSE leaders will now look for clarity on timelines and criteria. Expect emphasis on reaching key life moments, joining up with GPs, social prescribers, jobcentres and sports clubs, and evidencing outcomes that matter - better mental health, stronger social connections and earlier contact with services. The pot is modest next to the scale of need, so where it lands will be watched closely. The Northern Ledger will track awards to ensure high‑need Northern places are not left behind - and that projects that prove their worth are scaled rather than shelved.