To consider the following Motion submitted by Councillor Moncur:
“Public Health Grant Allocation Formula
In October 2015 the Government announced a short consultation on the changes to the public health grant allocation formula. This followed the announcement in June that the Department of health was reducing its spending on in year public health grants to local authorities by £200 million. The reduction was labelled ‘department of health non-NHS’ and represented a cut of 7.4% of the total £2.8billion provided to Local Authorities for 2015-16.
The potential impact of the in-year reduction and revised formula is stark, with the most deprived authorities facing the greatest cuts. Sefton’s 15-16 grant was cut by £1.3million and the forecast for 16-17 will see a further reduction of around £3.5million.
This reduction violates the new burdens doctrine. Local Authorities inherited new duties for public health in April 2013 and further responsibilities in 2015, namely the provision of the Prime Minsters personally championed flagship universal health visiting service. We are expected to honour these commitments with a devastating reduction in funding. This will exacerbate existing inequalities within Sefton and between our borough and more affluent local authority areas.
The reduction is at odds with the Governments expressed desire to strengthen prevention in order to reduce health and social care demand. It also disregards analysis by NICE that shows public health interventions are a good use of public money that can result in future savings for the NHS and are also good value for money.
Sefton’s population suffers from a number of serious public health problems, which need to be addressed urgently. Prevention is absolutely crucial in overcoming the challenges of smoking, child and adult obesity and alcohol related harm. Reductions in services will disproportionately affect the most vulnerable who urgently require lifestyle interventions.
Many of the services provided through the public health grant are indispensable elements within our comprehensive National Health Service, e.g. sexual health, school nursing, health screening etc. It is difficult to see how reducing these services will not compromise the NHS five year forward view’s call for a ‘radical upgrade in prevention and public health’.
As such we agree with the British Medical Association’s view that the Governments disregard of the benefits of a properly funded public health service is short sighted and imprudent.
This Council firmly believes that it is more important than ever that the distribution of available resources reflects the needs of areas (i.e. the level of deprivation and health inequalities). And that the Government should prioritise and protect investment in ill-health prevention and public health services.
The Council therefore calls on the Government to:-
(i) Re-consider its short-sighted proposals to revise the public health grant funding formula, which in effect reallocates essential prevention funding from the most deprived local authorities to the least deprived; and
(ii) Publish or conduct an equality impact assessment in respect of the application of revised formula, in order that the impact of the formula can be fully understood, and the government therefore be held to account for the consequences.”
Minutes:
It was moved by Councillor Moncur, seconded by Councillor John Joseph Kelly and unanimously
RESOLVED:
Public Health Grant Allocation Formula
In October 2015 the Government announced a short consultation on the changes to the public health grant allocation formula. This followed the announcement in June that the Department of Health was reducing its spending on in year public health grants to local authorities by £200 million. The reduction was labelled ‘department of health non-NHS’ and represented a cut of 7.4% of the total £2.8billion provided to Local Authorities for 2015-16.
The potential impact of the in-year reduction and revised formula is stark, with the most deprived authorities facing the greatest cuts. Sefton’s 15-16 grant was cut by £1.3million and the forecast for 16-17 will see a further reduction of around £3.5million.
This reduction violates the new burdens doctrine. Local Authorities inherited new duties for public health in April 2013 and further responsibilities in 2015, namely the provision of the Prime Minister’s personally championed flagship universal health visiting service. We are expected to honour these commitments with a devastating reduction in funding. This will exacerbate existing inequalities within Sefton and between our borough and more affluent local authority areas.
The reduction is at odds with the Government’s expressed desire to strengthen prevention in order to reduce health and social care demand. It also disregards analysis by NICE that shows public health interventions are a good use of public money that can result in future savings for the NHS and are also good value for money.
Sefton’s population suffers from a number of serious public health problems, which need to be addressed urgently. Prevention is absolutely crucial in overcoming the challenges of smoking, child and adult obesity and alcohol related harm. Reductions in services will disproportionately affect the most vulnerable who urgently require lifestyle interventions.
Many of the services provided through the public health grant are indispensable elements within our comprehensive National Health Service, e.g. sexual health, school nursing, health screening etc. It is difficult to see how reducing these services will not compromise the NHS five year forward view’s call for a ‘radical upgrade in prevention and public health’.
As such we agree with the British Medical Association’s view that the Government’s disregard of the benefits of a properly funded public health service is short sighted and imprudent.
This Council firmly believes that it is more important than ever that the distribution of available resources reflects the needs of areas (i.e. the level of deprivation and health inequalities), and that the Government should prioritise and protect investment in ill-health prevention and public health services.
The Council therefore calls on the Government to:-
(i) Re-consider its short-sighted proposals to revise the public health grant funding formula, which in effect reallocates essential prevention funding from the most deprived local authorities to the least deprived; and
(ii) Publish or conduct an equality impact assessment in respect of the application of revised formula, in order that the impact of the formula can be fully understood, and the Government therefore be held to account for the consequences.