Warning over £1.5m cut to health funding

Services to keep the district’s population healthy face a funding cut of at least six per cent this year.

Public health functions including stop smoking services, sexual health and school nurses will be hammered with a cut of around £1.5m.

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Wakefield Council, which took over public health responsibilities under NHS reforms by the government, will have to make the savings from funds being transferred to it to fund the services.

A report to the council’s Caring for our People overview and scrutiny committee said the funding reduction for Wakefield district could be around 6.2 per cent.

It said: “Public Health services include, amongst other things school nurses, smoking cessation services, sexual health services, drugs and alcohol services, weight management, and NHS Health checks etc.

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“It is anticipated that all aspects of the budget will be reviewed for potential savings.”

The cut is part of a £200m nation-wide reduction in public health funding in the current financial year.

But the government has come up with few policy initiatives to help councils make the savings, the report said.

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And further cuts to public health funding, which is not ring-fenced as part of the NHS budget, could be made in the government’s autumn spending review.

The report said: “Meanwhile, the chancellor’s decision to cut local authority public health budgets by £200m sends a worrying signal that public health funding, which lies outside the NHS ring-fence, may be vulnerable to further cuts.”

Despite the proportion of elderly people rising and a growing need to tackle long term-health conditions, both councils and the NHS are facing long-term budget cuts under the Conservatives.

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The council report points out that preventative health measures are needed to make the NHS and the country’s wider economy sustainable.

But the report added: “The autumn spending review will provide a litmus test of whether the government is serious about its commitment to prevention.”