Public Health Grant to Local Authorities

Lord Young of Cookham Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd November 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Kamall (Con)]

As noble Lords will know, the Chancellor has confirmed additional spend for public health, and the public health grant will be maintained in real terms over the spending review period, enabling local authorities to invest in prevention and front-line services such as child health visits. There will also be continued funding of £100 million per year over the period to tackle obesity in adults and children, as well as investment in a new start for life offer for families, with an additional £66 million in 2024-25. We know and recognise the importance of public health. At the same time, the NHS is committed to rebalancing between public health, prevention and therapeutics.

[Lord Young of Cookham (Con)]

Has my noble friend seen analysis by the University of York showing that expenditure on public health is three to four times more effective in terms of health outcomes than investment in the NHS? Will he take steps to ensure that we now invest in the resilience of the public health network to ensure that we are better placed for any future pandemics?

[Lord Kamall (Con)]

I thank my noble friend for that very important question. We continually assess our preparedness plans for infectious disease outbreaks and pandemics to ensure that they remain as robust as possible. This assessment includes, as appropriate, incorporating lessons learned from exercises that test the readiness of our plans and from our experience in responding to pandemics, disease outbreaks and other types of incident in the UK. The UK Health Security Agency will be dedicated to ensuring that we are protected from all future threats, including pandemics.