Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of women of reproductive age living in an area where the sexual and reproductive health budget has been reduced; what assessment he has made of the effect of the change to the public health budget on access to sexual and reproductive health services; what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the public health budget in advance of the forthcoming Spring Statement; and if he will make a statement.

Local authorities will receive over £3 billion in 2019/20, ring-fenced exclusively for public health. Additionally, the last spending review made £16 billion available to local authorities, payable over the current spending review period. Current regulations specify that local authorities must commission comprehensive open access sexual health services, including free sexually transmitted infections testing and treatment, the notification of sexual partners of persons with HIV and free provision of contraception.

While councils have had to make savings, they have also shown that good results can be achieved at the same time. More people are attending sexual health services. The most recent data estimated that there were 3.3 million attendances in 2017 – an increase of 3% from 2016. We do not hold information on the number of women of reproductive age living in areas where the sexual health budget has been reduced.

To help manage the overall increase in demand, local authorities have been utilising technology to manage lower risk and asymptomatic patients. As these services develop, they also have the potential to reach groups not currently engaged with clinic services.

All decisions about future funding for public health functions will be made in the next spending review. There have been no specific discussions with the Chancellor about the public health budget in advance of the Spring Statement.