ADPH responds to Government Spending Round

Responding to the Government Spending Round announced today, ADPH President Dr Jeanelle de Gruchy said:

“We welcome the real-term increase in the Public Health Grant. Alongside a range of charities and professional bodies, we have strongly campaigned for increased funding for public health if people are to live better, healthier lives. We are pleased that our message appears to have been heard.

The public health grant is £850 million lower in real terms than initial allocation in 2015/16 and Directors of Public Health are managing growing demand for public health services, including sexual health. The real-term increase is a positive step in the right direction, and we look forward to receiving more detail on what it entails.

We don’t believe this Spending Round will be the end of tough decisions for public health. But we do hope it is the start of a conversation with the Government (particularly in the lead up to next year’s Spending Review) about significant and sustainable investment in public health that delivers on the Government’s ambitions for prevention and better health and wellbeing for the nation.”