Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effect of the reduction to the public health budget on the number of patients admitted to hospital because of alcohol-related diseases and injuries.

Local authorities (LAs) will receive over £3 billion in 2019/20, ring-fenced exclusively for use on public health. It is for LAs themselves to determine how best to use these resources based on their assessment of local need and with regard to their statutory duties. Regulations require all LAs to provide an open-access sexual health service, and a condition attached to the grant requires them to use it with regard to the need to improve their substance misuse services.

Public Health England monitors and publishes data for every LA on a wide range of indicators of public health, and most are stable or improving. Last year 98% of adults accessed drug treatment services within three weeks, and attendances at sexual health services increased by 13% between 2013 and 2017.