Councils frustrated at government public health settlement

The money, announced this week, is provided by the government for councils to spend on public health.

Shropshire Council has received £12.8m for 2022/23 and Telford & Wrekin has received £13.1m.

Both councils have expressed frustration at the level of the grant, but Shropshire Council, a Conservative run administration, has added that it "is insufficient to tackle the long-term pressures that we are facing".

Simon Jones, Shropshire Council's cabinet member for health said that per head of population the authority's funding was considerably lower than its neighbouring authority, and the national average.

Councillor Jones said: "We are grateful to receive the government’s public health settlement grant for 2022/23, but with no real-terms increase, it shows little understanding of the long-term impacts of Covid-19 on our residents.

"It is also bitterly disappointing that Shropshire remains the lowest funded local authority in the region with £12.8m allocated for 2022/23. This puts us as the 17th lowest funded council in the country with £39 per head, compared to £73 per head in Telford & Wrekin and £67 nationally.

"Despite the significant impact of the pandemic on our rural population, and an estimated 57 per cent of our residents who have a vulnerability, there has been no attempt to level up the funding gap to areas such as Shropshire.

"There is a massive job to be done going forward and unfortunately, the public health settlement is insufficient to tackle the long-term pressures that we are facing."

Shropshire Council’s Director of Public Health, Rachel Robinson, said: "The pandemic has proven how vitally important public health services are; not only in protecting the health of our population but for also preventing illness, working to reduce inequalities, and promoting good health and wellbeing.

"Over the last two years Public Health Teams have worked tirelessly to help reduce the spread of Covid-19 and keep our communities safe. Our work around Covid-19 in Shropshire is not yet over and we also remain committed to supporting a healthier Shropshire; addressing the increased health and wellbeing needs and the inequalities which have been deepened by Covid-19, but this requires the right level of resourcing."

Telford & Wrekin Council's Cabinet member for Leisure, Public Health and Wellbeing, Equalities and Partnerships, Councillor Kelly Middleton said the grant would effectively mean a real terms cut in funding.

She said: “Telford & Wrekin Council received £13,168,141 in public health grant for 2022/23 which is about what we expected.

“Whilst the grant includes a 2.8 per cent increase on the previous year, inflation levels are running at five per cent and so we’re facing a real terms cut at a time when services to support health and wellbeing are needed more than ever.

"Government need to recognise that we are facing the biggest health crisis of our lifetime. The money will fund some of the work we’re doing to improve health and wellbeing in the borough – helping people to eat well, exercise more, stop smoking and tackle drug or alcohol addiction for example – but it won’t be enough to tackle causes of poor health that have been worsened by the pandemic.

“It’s also really disappointing that there is nothing in the grant to continue the work we’re doing to limit the spread of the virus. This vital work is something we will look to fund from elsewhere for now.”

In response a government spokesperson said: “We are aware of the pressures facing local authorities across the country, including Shropshire, which is why we are providing more than £3.4 billion through the Public Health Grant, with each receiving a 2.8 per cent increase, a total of £12,775,141 in Shropshire.

“This money will enable local authorities to continue to invest in prevention of ill health and in essential frontline services like child health visits, drug treatment and sexual health services.

“In addition, we have announced specific investment to tackle obesity, we support improvements in the quality and capacity of drug and alcohol treatment and continue to provide funding to local authorities to tackle Covid-19 in their local communities.”