Government to boost local health services funding by £200 million
Public health services in the East of England will get £341,260,904 in the 2025/26 financial year
The Government has announced a £200 million boost in funding for local health services as part of its efforts to shift the focus from sickness to prevention.
The Public Health Grant will be increased to £3.858 billion - a 5.4% cash uplift (3.0% in real terms) on last year's funding, the Department of Health and Social Care has said.
That means public health services in the East of England will get £341,260,904 in the 2025/26 financial year - equivalent to £51 per capita.
It will go towards funding health services and other interventions via local authorities, including stop-smoking programmes, drug and alcohol services, children's health services and sexual health services.
There are hopes the funding boost will relieve pressure on the NHS and reduce hospital backlogs.
The announcement was welcomed by health providers but the Government was warned that short-term funding will not make up for years of underinvestment and cuts to services.
"Investing in public health is key to bridging the health inequality gap"
David Fothergill, chairman of the Local Government Association's community wellbeing board said: "We are pleased the Government has increased the public health grant for councils, acting on our concerns over the significant funding pressures public health teams have been under.
"Investing in public health is key to bridging the health inequality gap, improving population health and preventing ill-health, reducing the pressure on social care and the NHS."
Saffron Cordery, interim chief executive of NHS Providers, said: "Any extra investment in public health services is welcome, especially when many local councils are under huge financial pressure.
"But after many years of underinvestment and cuts, there is a lot more to do to boost the nation's physical and mental health.
"As the Government seeks more economic growth, NHS trust leaders want to work hand in hand with it and councils to create the picture of national health we all want to see."
"A step in the right direction"
Royal College of Nursing executive director for England Patricia Marquis said: "The increase in the public health grant is a step in the right direction for the Government's ambitions to shift towards prevention, but short-term funding will not cover for years of cuts, nor help rescue the public health nursing workforce, which has been decimated over the last decade.
"The reason thousands of patients are crammed into A&E and stuck in hospital today can be traced back to a failure to invest in public health nursing and prevention."
The minister for public health and prevention, Andrew Gwynne, said: "Lord Darzi's investigation into the NHS found that children are sicker today than a decade ago, and adults are falling into ill health earlier in life.
"Prevention is better than cure. If we can reach people earlier and help them stay healthy, this extra investment will pay for itself several times over in reduced demand on the NHS and by keeping people in work."