Sweeping cuts will harm efforts to improve public health, councils warn
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Version 0 of 1. A 6.2% across the board cut in public health grants to local authorities threatens to undermine attempts to reduce levels of obesity, drinking and smoking in England, councils have warned. The Department of Health plans to achieve £200m savings demanded by the Treasury this year through one flat rate measure. Its month-long consultation, published on Friday, says this would be simpler to implement than adapting cuts to local circumstances. The savings must take effect within the current financial year, which began in April. They come at a time when councils are under pressure to help reduce huge disparities in life expectancy between different parts of England. Demand-led local services covering areas such as sexual health and drug abuse – which are commissioned by councils from the NHS – could also, in practice, be difficult to cut because of fears over infection risks. The responsibility for commissioning public health services for children under five, and the funds to go with them, transfers from the NHS to local authorities in October. The government says councils could cut in this area providing they meet their legal obligations. The measures are likely to intensify debate over why measures designed to improve long-term health and prevent later pressure on acute services in hospitals are being hit at the same time as extra funding has been guaranteed for the NHS until 2020. Izzi Seccombe, chairman of the Local Government Association’s community wellbeing board, said: “A £200m in-year reduction in public health funding will clearly impact on councils’ ability to improve the public’s health and wellbeing as well as reduce demand for hospital, health and social care services. This comes on top of a year-on-year real terms reduction in public health budgets. “Giving councils the ability to make a real impact to the health of local people was a positive step, but local government can only continue its important work such as reducing smoking or excessive drinking and tackling obesity if we are adequately resourced to do so. “With further reductions in public spending expected next year we need to move away from a focus of treating sickness to actively promoting health and wellbeing. Cutting public health budgets is not the solution.” Duncan Selbie, chief executive of Public Health England, the government body responsible for distributing the grants to councils, said: “Local government is best placed to lead on prevention and since taking on public health in 2013 have made significant progress in improving the public’s health. Though the government’s decision is a difficult ask of them, they are best placed to manage and prioritise resources and I am confident they will with the least possible impact.” |