Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what equality impact assessment has been carried out on the decision to reduce by £200 million the local government public health grant; and if he will make a statement.

The Department has conducted a public consultation exercise on the options for delivering this saving and specifically invited views in relation to the potential impact on people with protected characteristics as defined in the Equality Act 2010. We will publish our conclusions shortly.