Oral Answers to Questions

Mick Whitley Excerpts

Tuesday 10th March 2020 Commons Chamber

The Secretary of State was asked—

[Mick Whitley (Birkenhead) (Lab)]

1. When he plans to publish the local authority public health grant allocations.

[Vicky Foxcroft (Lewisham, Deptford) (Lab)]

8. When he plans to publish the local authority public health grant allocations.

[The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Matt Hancock)]

The 2019 spending round announced real-terms growth in the public health grant for next year, so local authorities can continue to invest in prevention. Every local authority will see a real-terms increase in their grant allocations, which I expect to publish imminently.

[Mick Whitley]

Despite the urgency of the coronavirus situation at the moment, we could see local councils planning to cut numbers of nurses, even though they would be very much needed, simply because the councils do not know what their public health budgets are. Does the Minister think that is acceptable?

[Matt Hancock]

No, and that is why I have just announced that every local authority will see a real-terms increase in their grant allocation so that that does not have to happen.