Public Health: Finance

(asked on 20th November 2018) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of the health and social care budget was allocated to the local authority public health grant in 2018-19.


Answered by
Steve Brine Portrait
Steve Brine
This question was answered on 28th November 2018

The local authority public health grant provides funding for health services delivered through local authorities. However it is not the entirety of the funding nor spend for public health services. For example, in addition to the grant there is circa £1.2 billion ringfenced for NHS national public health services within the NHS mandate figures, as well as other Departmental expenditure on vaccines and on grant in aid to Public Health England.

The following table shows the percentage change in total funding for NHS England and the local authority public health grant in each year since 2014:

NHS England funding increase %

Public health grant increase %

2014-15

3.6%

5.0%

2015-16

3.3%

24%*

2016-17

5.4%

-2.2%

2017-18

3.6%

-2.5%**

2018-19

4.6%

-2.6%


Notes:

* End year allocation for 2015-16 including the transfer in October 2015 of funding from NHS England to local authorities for commissioning services for children aged 0 - 5.

** Figures from 2017-18 includes funding retained by 10 Greater Manchester local authorities as part of a business rate pilot, not allocated via a grant.

The total Department of Health and Social Care Departmental Expenditure Limit for 2018-19 was £128.4 billion. 2.5 % was allocated to the local authority public health grant in 2018-19.

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