Vital public health services such as drug and alcohol treatment,
early years and school aged support, weight management and sexual
health services need urgent investment in the Spending Review if
the country is to fully recover from the effects of the pandemic,
councils say today.
The Local Government Association, which represents councils
responsible for public health, says COVID-19 has exposed existing
health inequalities which need to be levelled up if we are to
protect our communities in future.
The virus has disproportionately impacted certain groups of
people, such as those who are overweight or obese, diabetic or
with other physical and mental health conditions. It is clear
that by intervening earlier and helping to prevent some of these
conditions from developing in the first place, more lives could
have been saved.
The LGA says next week’s Spending Review is an opportunity
to address this divide by reversing the £700 million of public
health funding reductions experienced by councils over the past
five years.
Every pound invested by government in council-run services
such as public health helps to relieve pressure on other services
like the NHS and the criminal justice system, while also proving
to be three to four times more cost-effective in improving
people’s health than money spent in the NHS.
Combined savings from the cost of drug and alcohol
treatment alone amount to £2.4 billion every year, leading to
savings in crime, health and social care.
Meanwhile, 40 per cent of avoidable deaths are as a result
of tobacco, obesity, inactivity and alcohol harm.
Cllr Ian Hudspeth, Chairman of the LGA’s Community
Wellbeing Board, said:
“Councils’ public health teams have been leading the local
response to coronavirus, all while trying to keep essential
services like drug and alcohol treatment running on limited
resources.
“We cannot expect public health services to continue to
meet rising demand, especially in the wake of the pandemic,
without the extra resources to back this up. The Government wants
to increase healthy life expectancy by an extra five years by
2035, but we need the preventative measures in place now to make
that happen.
“If we are to finally tackle the country’s long-standing
health inequalities and create happier, healthier and more
resilient communities, we need to start investing in these vital
services now to meet the upcoming challenges
post-pandemic.”
Notes to Editors
Among the longer-term asks of government which the LGA is
calling for are:
-
The creation of a Healthy Communities Fund to support
coordinated, community led action and ensure that decisions in
areas such as housing, employment and transport planning are
all held to account in having a positive impact on health, such
as encouraging walking and cycling, reducing carbon emissions
and designing cleaner, greener environments.
-
Dedicated prevention funding to allow councils to help
prevent people falling into ill-health, such as weight loss
classes, the NHS health check, information and advice
campaigns. This could also be used by councils to help support
each other in finding new and improved ways to reach out to
residents, such as expanding home testing and web-based
delivery in sexual health and contraception services.
-
Investment in early intervention and support for
children’s health, including a government commitment to expand
the Healthy Child Programme workforce, which provides families
with valuable advice on health, wellbeing and parenting
alongside help with screening and immunisation.
-
Government should invest some of the existing alcohol
duty revenue to fund alcohol treatment, similar to the approach
already used in gambling, where there is a levy on operators
used to fund research, education and treatment.
