ADPH Briefing Calls For Funding

The Association of Directors of Public Health says, “cuts to public health funding over the past decade have had a severe effect on health and wellbeing. Across the UK, smoking is the leading cause of premature and preventable death, over a quarter of adults are living with obesity, and one in six adults are experiencing mental health issues.”

The Association says it is right that investment is made in healthcare, but this is only one piece of the puzzle.

“If we want to improve health and wellbeing for everyone in our society over the long term, then we must also invest in public health and upstream intervention. Only a small proportion of people’s health – just 10 to 20% – is determined by access to traditional health services. The remainder is shaped by our economic, social and environmental conditions such as our income, the education we receive, the housing we live in, the transport we use, and the air we breathe. Local public health teams play a critical role in keeping the nation healthy, but without the necessary funding, improving people’s health is not possible.”

The Association of Directors of Public Health uses the briefing to argue for a blend of policies and regulations which are not solely focused on financial investment. 

“However, the Directors of Public Health are clear that the status quo of short funding settlements and real-terms cuts to the budgets that could transform wellbeing is harming the communities they serve; it is time to change course.”

Currently, public health funding is used by local teams to provide children’s services, drug and alcohol services, and sexual health services. In England, the public health grant has specific spending categories which are used when reporting to demonstrate how the money is used by Local Authorities. These are divided into prescribed functions (e.g. public health advice to NHS Commissioners) and non-prescribed functions (e.g. stop smoking services and interventions).

Recommendations made by the Association of Directors of Public Health:

• The Government should restore the public health grant to its 2015/16 real-terms per person value. Equivalent investment should be made in public health in the devolved nations.
• All national Governments should ensure health and wellbeing is built into the fabric of their decision-making both when it comes to policy development and funding allocation.
• Funding for Integrated Care Systems and public health partners within the NHS should be increased specifically to meet the costs of shifting towards prevention and away from treatment.
• Targeted funding should be available to wider Government departments that work more broadly in public health.

References: 

• The Association of Directors of Public Health Briefing: Public Health Funding - https://www.adph.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ADPH-Public-Health-Funding-Briefing-Final-1-1.pdf

Dave Cross

Journalist at POTV

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Dave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous start-ups to develop content for their websites.