Sefton Council have written to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care for clarification on as yet unreleased public health grant funding.
The leader of the council, Cllr Ian Maher, has expressed his disappointment on behalf of the authority to Secretary of State Matt Hancock after the government failed to release the funding.
Sefton Council commissions and delivers a number of crucial public health services including smoking cessation, drug and alcohol services and integrated wellness services, which help keep people well and stop them needing more expensive NHS interventions.
However without clear and detailed budgets from the Department for Health and Social Care, local authorities, including Sefton, will struggle to effectively plan for these vital services in the future.
Cllr Ian Maher, Leader of Sefton Council, said: “At a time when the NHS is facing unprecedented levels of demand, not supporting the very services that can help keep people well and away from the NHS is an absolute false economy.
“I call on the Secretary of State on behalf of our wonderful communities to release our public health funding allocation immediately and to make that allocation one of significant growth to allow us to continue prioritising prevention services.”
For more information about the vital work Sefton Council’s Public Health team do across the borough, visit www.sefton.gov.uk/public-health
