Research by the IPPR (Institute for Public Policy Research), reported in The Guardian, shows that England’s poorest communities have borne the brunt of almost £900m of cuts to public health spending, despite them having higher rates of disease.
One pound in every £7 of the £871.6m that has been cut from Whitehall’s public health grant to local councils in England over the last five years has been taken from budgets in the 10 poorest areas of the country. In contrast the 10 wealthiest places have lost public health funding equivalent to just £1 in every £46.
Overall the most deprived areas have lost £120m while the least deprived have seen their budgets contract by just £20m.
The report warns that such inequality good increase still further the difference in life expectancy between poor areas and well-off areas.
Full story in The Guardian, 5 November 2019