COUNCIL leaders have made an urgent call on the Government to ensure the protection of a vital public health grant amid fears it could be cut as part of a funding review.
They have argued areas like County Durham could be among hardest hit under current plans to change how the Government allocates public health funding – deepening a “stark” North-South divide
Based on information available, Durham County Council has calculated it will see an £18 million reduction in its public health funding, whereas Surrey and Hertfordshire will see an increase of £14.4 and £12.6m respectively.
The changes are part of a Fair Funding Review, in which the government intends to reduce the central government grant to councils, while allowing them to keep an increased proportion of business rates.
To offset the reduced amount that will then go to central government, it is proposed the council’s Public Health Grant from central government is withdrawn with the council covering the costs.
More deprived areas like County Durham have higher proportions of houses in the lower council tax bands therefore its council tax raising capacity is much less. This problem is accentuated by the fact that County Durham has fewer home owners and demand for social care is greater.
In County Durham a 1 per cent council tax rise yields around £2.3m of additional funding for the council, yet in Surrey a 1 per cent increase yields them around £10m.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government deferred the reforms for the second time last year to allow councils to focus on meeting the immediate public health challenge posed by the pandemic and no final decision has been taken.
Durham County Council leader Councillor Simon Henig said: “My strong view is there should be no reduction in the Public Health Grant budget, particularly after what everybody has experienced over the last year with Covid-19, if this is something that the Government has previously wanted to include in the raft of changes.
“Public health should be taken out of that and should be protected and ring-fenced, for the purposes for which it’s been used over the last few years.
“We need to protect this public health budget. Not just for County Durham, but everywhere. All North-East councils potentially face a cut.
“We very much hope this cut doesn’t happen and that it’s not implemented, but clearly if it was it would be very difficult for us to maintain the current level of services.”
He added: “We would argue that, in the aftermath of the impact of coronavirus, the Government should come at out say we will protect the public health funding.”
North Durham MP Kevan Jones, who has lobbied the Government on the issue in the House of Commons, said: “This is an extension of the Government’s policy in a number of central funding areas including council tax, where they’ve taken deprivation out of the indicators to determine grants.
“That means it’s mainly moving money from poorer areas in the North and inner cities to more affluent areas. It’s based on the the ill-conceived notion that all areas are the same, when clearly they are not.
“The demands, for example, in Durham in terms of public health and elderly care for example are higher than some more affluent areas.
“This formula takes no account of the huge public health pressures which County Durham face and which we’ve seen in this pandemic for example.
“What the Government have got to do – and it’s an ideological decision on their part – is to factor in the calculation for deprivation and recognise that areas such as the North-East and Durham have more demands on public health than more affluent areas.
“But they have taken a very clear political decision to redirect money to more affluent areas.”
He added: “Public health, as I see it, is not just about a being reactive it is investment.
“If you look at the work for example in things Durham County Council have done in terms of smoking cessation, drug and alcohol services and teenage pregnancies – they have been some of the best performers in driving those initiatives.
“It’s about an investment in the future. It’s about services that are delivered now, but it’s also about trying to do preventative work like smoking cessation and addressing drug and alcohol misuse.
Dr Sarah Pearce, a retired hospital consultant speaking on behalf of the North Durham Patient Reference Group, said: “The so-called Fair Funding Review is grossly unfair to those who live in the deprived areas of the North-East and other deprived areas.
“I think they should review it and build into it an allowance for deprivation. They have what they call the index of multiple deprivation, which takes into account unemployment, crime, education and health issues and you end up with a score.
“Many areas in the North have a high score for deprivation. they removed it some years ago.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “The Government is supporting Directors of Public Health, and their teams, to protect and improve the public’s health and wellbeing during the current pandemic and beyond.
“As part of the recent Spending Review we committed to keeping the public health grant, meaning local authorities can continue to invest in prevention and essential frontline health services, serving the communities they know best.
“In addition to the baseline funding for public health, we have also made over £11 billion available to local councils to support them with the costs and impacts of Covid-19.”
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