ADPH Autumn Budget Submission 2025

Cuts to public health funding over the past decade have had a severe effect on health and wellbeing. Without sufficient funding, the public’s health will continue to decline, and health inequalities will continue to widen.

Recommendations

• The Government should restore the public health grant to its 2015/16 real-terms per person value.
• The restoration of the public health grant should be accompanied by additional funding to ensure that LAs currently receiving less than their fair share receive a more equitable distribution.
• Equivalent investment should be made in public health in the devolved nations to ensure public health teams can deliver across the UK.
• All national Governments should ensure health and wellbeing is built into the fabric of their decision-making through a Health in All Policies (HiAP) approach.
• The Government should reintroduce the tax escalator on alcohol at 2% per annum ahead of inflation.
• The Governments in all four nations should implement a minimum price of 65p per unit of alcohol and follow the evidence base built in Scotland and Wales.
• The NHS should increase the proportion of their overall budgets spent on prevention.

Read our comments and recommendations, submitted to the Government for consideration ahead of this year’s Autumn budget, in full by downloading our submission.