WIREDGOV

Cllr Linda Thomas, Vice Chair of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, responded to the TaxPayers’ Alliance report on public health spending, 

“Public health services are playing a vital role in improving the health of children, young people and adults, reducing the need for treatment later down the line and easing the pressure on the NHS. Councils follow expert guidance and internationally-renowned evidence to inform their commissioning decisions and measure effectiveness of the public health services.

“It is indisputable that preventing ill-health is a far better use of taxpayers’ money than treating illnesses.The TPA’s methodology is fundamentally flawed by failing to take into account that different populations have different needs and costs. It is also wrong to ignore the benefits of public health spending in the context of costs to society. According to a systematic review of the available evidence, published online in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, every £1 spent on public health saves on average £14 and in some cases, significantly more than that.

“About a third of all deaths could have been prevented by lifestyle changes undertaken at an earlier time of life. If this avoidable ill-health could be reduced the savings would be considerable. Investing in prevention ultimately saves money for other parts of the public sector by reducing demand for hospital, health and social care services and ultimately improves the public’s health.

“Councils are having to carefully consider how best they can spend their public health funding, which has been cut by £531 million from 2015/16 to 2019/20 by central government, to maximise cost effectiveness and improve health outcomes.”

View TPA report here