DoH freezes public health cash

9 Sep 14
Councils are to receive nearly £2.8bn in funding for public health from next April, meaning allocations have been frozen in cash terms.

By Richard Johnstone | 9 September 2014

Councils are to receive nearly £2.8bn in funding for public health from next April, meaning allocations have been frozen in cash terms.

Setting out the allocations today, the Department of Health said the money would remain ring-fenced to ensure it is used solely for improving public health.

Public health minister Jane Ellison also announced that a further £5m would be made available to town halls through the Health Premium Incentive Scheme, which will provide cash incentives to town halls that make improvements to local public health.

Under the scheme, authorities will be rewarded for meeting one mandatory national public health target related to improving drug and alcohol services and another local target of their choice.

Ellison said that the government was maintaining its major investment in public health funding.

Public Health England chief executive Duncan Selbie added that local authorities were best placed to achieve improvements in the public’s health. ‘The announcement of the public health allocations will allow them to get on with planning the services their communities need most,’ he added.

However, responding to the figures, CIPFA chief executive Rob Whiteman highlighted that total funding had effectively been cut in real terms.

‘Public health is about prevention and reducing pressure in the future on the NHS and social care services by helping people stay healthy and minimise the risk of illnesses. As such it is an investment in the future sustainability of the NHS,’ he said.

‘If the government is committed to prevention and reducing health inequalities across the nation it is important that this investment is made.’

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