Andrew Bennett

I began my career as a youth worker and drug service manager, where I established one of the first syringe exchange programmes in the mid-1980s. From 1994 to 2006, I served as Managing Director at HIT, a national agency focused on public health interventions. During my time there, HIT became internationally respected for its consumer-based harm reduction approaches to drug misuse.

Over the past 18 years, I’ve led a range of public health interventions covering alcohol and drug use, smoking, healthy weight, sexual health, ageing, childhood immunisation, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), trauma and resilience, and serious youth violence. Recently, I contributed to the Covid-19 response with Public Health Wales and worked on initiatives with the Merseyside Violence Reduction Partnership.

My connection with Health Equalities Group spans several years, where I’ve supported projects such as smoking prevention, research and stakeholder engagement for the Pennine Lancashire Childhood Obesity Trailblazer Programme, the Sefton Healthy Weight Programme, the Kind To Teeth campaign, trauma-informed sport initiatives, and the "Why weight to talk?" brief advice programme. I am also the Public Health Lead at Merseyside Violence Reduction Partnership (MVRP).

I hold an MSc in Social Interventions for Public Health from Imperial College, a Postgraduate Diploma in Youth Work from Manchester Polytechnic, and a BA in Economics from Nottingham University.

Outside of work, I value spending time with family and friends, and my role as a Grandad. I’m passionate about music and play guitar, and I enjoy football, cricket, and the occasional beer.