Stockport Labour Group has branded cuts by the Government to local Public Health as ‘a false economy’ after it was announced that the borough faces a £1.35 million cut to the 2016-17 Budget.
Labour Chair of the Health Scrutiny Committee Councillor Tom McGee said ‘At a time when the NHS and Adult Social Care services are under mounting pressure, cutting the vital preventative work which our Public Health Budget supports makes little sense.
‘The cuts announced by the Government in November and February add up to a total of nearly 8% – that’s £1.35 million not spent on people with alcohol or drug dependencies, not spent promoting healthier lifestyles, and not spent on mental health.
‘Preventing an illness in the first place is always better than curing it once it occurs. These cuts represent a massive backward step with less proactive health services leading to a rise in expensive hospital admissions.’
A meeting of Stockport’s Health Scrutiny Committee on 1st March expressed opposition to plans to cut investment in Public Health in Stockport to £16.49 million in 2016-17. The Government has also indicated a future cut to just over £16 million for 2017-18.
To date the Government has only confirmed that a Central Grant, ring-fenced solely for use on Public Health functions, will continue for two more years, raising the spectre of a merger which other Council funding and even deeper, short-sighted cuts during this Parliament.
Shadow Health Minister and Reddish MP Andrew Gwynne said ‘Public Health cuts are the falsest of false economies. This is misguided short-termism that will only cost us more down the line.
‘George Osborne’s cuts will place an extra strain on the NHS in Stockport which will take much needed cash away from hospitals.’
For 2016-17 the Lib Dem Executive in Stockport has already confirmed that the cuts will mean a reduction in activity within the current Public Health programmes, a review of existing contract values with local providers, and cuts to staff who work in Public Health.
The Public Health Grant currently amounts for £7 in every £100 Stockport Council receives in income.