Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of reductions in local authority public health nursing contracts on prevention and community-based care.

Decisions related to public health nursing contracts are taken at a local level.

Public health nursing has been funded by local authorities since 2015 through the Public Health Grant. We increased the Public Health Grant by £224 million this year, 2025/26, to support local authorities to deliver public health services. We will continue to invest in local authorities' vital public health work, providing over £13.4 billion, a 5.6% cash increase, over the next three years through a consolidated ringfenced Public Health Grant. This is the first three-year public health settlement in a decade, giving local authorities far greater certainty over their future funding and supporting their ability to plan ahead.

We have refreshed guidance for the Healthy Child Programme to strengthen service delivery and promote consistency in the quality of public health nursing across the country. This guidance is due for publication in early 2026.