Cuts to public health spending: the falsest of false economies Back in June, with no prior warning, the Treasury announced that the 2015/16 public health grant to local authorities would be reduced by £200 million. Last week, the Department of Health finally released the consultation on these ‘in-year savings’ (for the rest of us that means cuts).
Given the delay in doing so following the announcement, you’d be forgiven for thinking that it is an extensive, highly technical document setting out complex options. But it’s not – it’s 20 pages, including annexes. So why the delay? Why is the consultation open for just four weeks? And why does it take place in August, when many people are likely to be on leave? Presumably because it is already desperately late to be cutting in-year budgets – suggesting the cut caught the Department of Health by surprise. Not so long ago, the Department was trying to give local authorities planning certainty by issuing multi-year budgets – the contrast between this and an in-year cut could hardly be more stark. The King's Fund
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