Lifeline addiction support, sexual health clinics and stop-smoking services face cuts of £96m this year after “shortsighted and cynical” reductions to council budgets, Labour has claimed.
New analysis shows 85 per cent of English councils plan to slash spending on vital services to balance their books, as life expectancy rates stall, and drug-related deaths and childhood obesity levels hit record highs.
Sexual health services were among the worst hit, with services being stripped back by 95 councils at a loss of £17.6m of funding compared to the previous year, according to 2018-19 budget figures from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Alcohol and substance misuse services are being stripped back by 114 councils at a cost of £34m, while services aimed at children are being cut by £25.9m year-on-year, the figures show.
Stop-smoking budgets will face cuts of £3.1m and obesity budgets are set to fall by £1m.
While the government has pledged to protect frontline services, public health programmes are being chipped away at by £800m over the next few years up to 2021, due to reductions in government funding, according to the King’s Fund.
Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow health secretary, said: “When drug related deaths are at their highest ever, when rates of STDs are rising, when more children are leaving school obese than ever before and when improvements in life expectancy have slowed, then these swingeing cuts to public health budgets are shortsighted, cynical and wrong.
“Local services which are there to keep people well and out of hospital are to be slashed in every part of England. The fact is these cuts to health budgets will leave people sicker, and in the long run will cost the NHS much more than they save.
“These cuts are pushing us to a public health crisis. Ahead of the government’s 10 Year Plan for the NHS Ministers must reverse these cuts because no plan for the NHS can work without a properly funded plan for prevention too.”
Reductions in services risk hitting the poorest and most vulnerable who benefit from these schemes, which have also been shown to save the NHS money by keeping people out of hospital, nursing leaders said.
Helen Donovan, professional lead for public health at the Royal College of Nursing, said: “With higher levels of childhood obesity, stalling life expectancy and swingeing cuts to sexual health services, it’s clear the progress we’ve made over the last few years is being undone.
UK news in pictures
UK news in pictures
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1/5020 September 2018
Chris Evans’ wife Natasha Shishmanian has given birth to twins, a boy and girl affectionately nicknamed “Ping and Pong” throughout the pregnancy.
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2/5019 September 2018
Storm Ali has hit the British Isles bringing winds of up to 100mph. A woman in the Republic of Ireland was killed when her caravan was blown off of a cliff and a man in Northern Ireland was killed by a falling tree. Pictured is a bus that was carrying students of Dundee University that was hit by a falling tree in Fife
PA
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3/5018 September 2018
Car manufacturer BMW announced on September 18, 2018, that its Mini factory in the UK would close for its annual summer maintenance several weeks earlier than planned, starting on April 1, 2019, to avoid any disruption in case of a no-deal Brexit.
AFP/Getty
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4/5017 September 2018
“It’s either my deal or no deal”, the Prime Minister has said to the BBC’s Nick Robinson in an interview on Panorama that airs this evening. Mrs May also claims to be irritated by the constant speculation over her leadership, stating “this debate is not about my future. This debate is about the future of the people of the UK and the future of the United Kingdom.”
BBC/Jeff Overs
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5/5016 September 2018
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has announced his support for a second Brexit referendum. In The Observer, the mayor writes: “After careful consideration, I’ve decided the people must get a final say. This means a public vote on any deal or a vote on a no deal, alongside the option of staying in the EU”. Mr Khan is pictured here on The Andrew Marr Show, where he appeared this morning to discuss the matter
PA
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6/5015 September 2018
The Liberal Democrats party conference began today in Brighton. In his conference speech, leader Vince Cable (pictured) is expected to elaborate on his plans for a “Movement for Moderates”
PA
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7/5014 September 2018
An early Banksy mural has been accidentally painted over during renovations. The mural has been on the shop front on Park Row in the artist’s hometown of Bristol since the 1990s
PA
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8/5013 September 2018
Suspects in the Skripal poisoning case Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov today claimed in an interview with Russian state broadcaster RT that they were visiting Salisbury as tourists. Stating “It’s famous for its 123-meter spire. It’s famous for its clock. It’s one of the oldest working clocks in the world.”
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9/5012 September 2018
Tottenham Hotspur and French National goalkeeper Hugo Lloris leaves Westminster Magistrates’ Court after pleading guilty to drink driving. The footballer is accused of being over twice the legal alcohol limit when he was stopped by police on August 24
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10/5011 September 2018
David Suchet recites from Amadeus during a service of thanksgiving to celebrate the life and work of Sir Peter Hall, the former director of the National Theatre, at Westminster Abbey in London
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11/5010 September 2018
Alastair Cook celebrates his century in his last ever innings playing for England during the fourth day of the fifth test cricket match against India at The Oval. He announced his retirement before the fifth test match began, ending his illustrious 12-year test career
AFP/Getty
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12/509 September 2018
Sir Mo Farah winning the The Great North Run’s elite men’s race, claiming a record-breaking fifth consecutive victory. He completed the race in under an hour
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13/508 September 2018
Britain’s former foreign secretary Boris Johnson sits in the stands during play on the second day of the fifth Test cricket match between England and India at The Oval in London
AFP/Getty
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14/507 September 2018
The poppy sculpture Wave by artist Paul Cummins and designer Tom Piper at IWM North, The Quays, Manchester. This is the final presentation of Wave as part of a four year UK-wide tour, and the sculpture will be on site until 25 November
PA
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15/506 September 2018
The aftermath of a house fire, which broke out in the early hours of the morning, where a woman died in Centurion Square, south-east London.
PA
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16/505 September 2018
Counter-terrorism police have released images of the two suspects in connection with the Salisbury attack in March. The suspects Ruslan Boshirov and Alexander Petrov, are Russian nationals, and approximately 40 years old. They travelled on a Russian passport and it is likely that they were travelling under aliases and that these are not their real names. The CPS has issued European Arrest Warrants for the extradition in connection with the Novichok poisoning attack on Sergei Skripal
Metropolitan Police
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17/504 September 2018
Pro Labour party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, protesters demonstrate outside the Labour party headquarters in London. Labour’s NEC (National Executive Committee) is expected to approve the international definition of anti-Semitism into Labour’s code of conduct
EPA
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18/503 September 2018
Chris Evans surrounded by media as he leaves the Radio 2 studio in London after he announced he is quitting his breakfast show which he has presented since 2010
PA
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19/502 September 2018
Former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown speaks during the ‘Jewish Labour Movement Conference’
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20/501 September 2018
An inflatable caricature balloon of Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan floats, near Parliament Square in London. Organizer Yanny Bruere raised more than 58,000 pounds ($75,000) through the Crowdfunder website for the 29-foot (8.8-meter) blimp as part of a campaign to oust Khan from his post. Khan angered some people in the British capital and elsewhere last month when he allowed a balloon caricaturing Donald Trump as an angry baby to float above the city while the U.S. president was in England.
AP
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21/5031 August 2018
A can of Coca-Cola next to a cup of Costa coffee, as Whitbread has struck a deal to sell the Costa Coffee chain to Coca-Cola for £3.9 billion
PA
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22/5030 August 2018
Frank Field MP in Westminster, London, after resigning from the Labour party over the anti-Semitism crisis. Field, who has represented Birkenhead from almost 40 years, revealed in a letter to party chief whip Nick Brown that he could no longer serve the party as the leadership was overseeing the “erosion of our core values”
PA
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23/5029 August 2018
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex meeting ‘King George’ and the cast at the Victoria Palace Theatre in London after attending a gala performance of the musical Hamilton, in support of Sentebale. The evening raises awareness and funds for Sentebale’s work with children and young people affected by HIV in southern Africa
Dan Charity/The Sun/PA
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24/5028 August 2018
Prime Minister Theresa May meets students and staff at I.D. Mkize Secondary School in Cape Town, which is twinned with Whitby High School in Yorkshire. The two schools are part of a British Council funded teacher exchange scheme called ‘Connected Classrooms’. The prime minister is on day one of her trip to South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya on a trade mission designed to bolster the UK’s post-Brexit fortunes
PA
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25/5027 August 2018
Performers take part in the main Parade day of Notting Hill Carnival in London. Nearly one million people are expected by the organizers over Sunday and Monday in the streets of west London to celebrate Caribbean culture, which is considered the largest street demonstration in Europe
AFP/Getty
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26/5026 August 2018
The crowd pauses for 72 seconds silence in remembrance of all those lost in the Grenfell Tower fire at the Red Bull Music Academy Sound System at Notting Hill
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27/5025 August 2018
Comedian Rose Matafeo is congratulated by Steve Coogan after winning the Edinburgh Comedy Award at the Dovecote Studio
PA
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28/5024 August 2018
British Secretary of State for International Trade, Liam Fox, attends a signing ceremony for memorandums of understanding between British and Chinese firms and institutions at the British ambassador’s residence in Beijing
AP
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29/5023 August 2018
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe hugs her daughter Gabriella, in Iran. She has been allowed to leave an Iranian prison for three days. Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested during a holiday with her toddler daughter in April 2016. Iranian authorities accuse her of plotting against the government. Her family denies this, saying says she was in Iran to visit family
Free Nazanin Campaign/AP
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30/5022 August 2018
Anti Brexit activists protest as they deliver a pile of medical supplies in cardboard boxes to the Department of Health and Social Care in London. Our Future, Our Choice (OFOC) Pro EU campaign group wants get its message to the public surrounding the predicted costs of Britain’s “No Deal Hard Brexit”, exit from the European Union
AP
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31/5021 August 2018
Families enjoy rides on the dodgems during an Eid in the Park celebration marking Eid Al-Adha at the New River Sports ground in Wood Green, London. The traditional four-day celebratory festival marks one of the holiest days in the Islamic religious calendar
Getty
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32/5020 August 2018
Jeremy Corbyn campaigns on Labour’s ‘Build it in Britain’ policy at Alexander Dennis bus manufacturers in Falkirk,Scotland. The Labour leader will spend the next four days in Scotland in an attempt to revitalize the party there
Getty
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33/5019 August 2018
Manchester United women’s side walk out alongside Liverpool ahead of their first professional game since 2005. United disbanded their senior women’s team thirteen years ago and returned with a win, beating Liverpool in their Continental Tyres Cup match clash at Prenton Park
PA
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34/5018 August 2018
Great Britain’s Reece Prescod, finishes second, to USA’s Christian Coleman, centre, in a photo finish after they both ran 9.94. With USA’s Noah Lyles, left, finishing third in the men’s 100m final during the Muller Grand Prix at Alexander Stadium, Birmingham
PA
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35/5017 August 2018
Paul Elliott, right, carries the coffin of his brother Barry, 73, at the New York Stadium, Rotherham, for his funeral following his death on Sunday August 5. The veteran entertainer was one half of comedy duo the Chuckle Brothers with Paul
PA
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36/5016 August 2018
Students react as they receive their ‘A’ level results at Stoke Newington School and Sixth Form in London. Universities accepted thousands fewer students as pass rates hit lowest level since 2010
Reuters
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37/5015 August 2018
People gather on Market Street, Omagh, for the ceremony to mark the 20th anniversary of the Omagh bombing on 15 August 1998. The worst single atrocity of the Northern Ireland conflict killed 29, including a woman pregnant with twins
PA
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38/5014 August 2018
Police arrest a man after he crashed a car into security barriers outside the Houses of Parliament
Sky News
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39/5013 August 2018
Communities Secretary James Brokenshire today launched a £100 million pound government fund to end rough sleeping in England within the next decade. Brokenshire is pictured here at the central London headquarters for homelessness charity the Passage, where he launched the scheme
PA
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40/5012 August 2018
Police officers stand guard at the scene of a shooting at Claremont Road in the Moss Side neighborhood of Manchester, Ten people were taken to hospital on August 12, 2018 after shots were fired in Manchester in northern England, police said.
AFP/Getty
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41/5011 August 2018
Great Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith reacts after she won gold in the women’s 200m final at the European Athletics Championships in Berlin, completing the sprint double after she won the 100m just days before
Getty/European Athletics
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42/5010 August 2018
Pedestrians walk past the entrance of the retail store House of Fraser in central London. The Chinese-owned UK department store chain, entered administration on August 10 only to be swiftly snapped up by retailer Sports Direct for £90 million ($115 million, 100 million euros)
AFP
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43/509 August 2018
Local people protest outside the Hillingdon Conservative Association office on August 9, 2018 in Uxbridge, England. Today’s protest is being held following comments made by former Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, against the wearing of Burkas by Muslim women in the United Kingdom. An independent panel will investigate complaints made regarding Mr Johnson’s comments and possible breaches of the Conservative Party code of conduct.
Getty
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44/508 August 2018
Britain’s Prince William, right, and Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May, walk past a German flag, left, and a Britain’s flag as they leave the Amiens cathedral, northern France. Prince William and Theresa May are marking the somber centenary of the Battle of Amiens, in France, a short, bloody and decisive battle that heralded the end of World War I
AP
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45/507 August 2018
Great Britain’s Jack Laugher and James Heatly pose with their Gold and Bronze medal’s respectively won in the 1 metre springboard men’s final at the European Diving Championships in Glasgow
EPA
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46/506 August 2018
England cricketer Ben Stokes arrives at Bristol Crown Court accused of affray. The 27-year-old all-rounder and two other men, Ryan Ali and Ryan Hale are jointly charged with affray in the Clifton Triangle area of Bristol on September 25 last year, several hours after England had played a one-day international against the West Indies in the city
PA
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47/505 August 2018
Great Britain’s Laura Kenny celebrates after winning the Women’s Elimination Race final at the European Championships in Glasgow
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48/504 August 2018
Ben Stokes celebrates taking the wicket of India’s Hardik Pandya with team mates during the first test at Edgbaston
Action Images via Reuters
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49/503 August 2018
French President Emmanuel Macron waves to people as he arrives at the Fort de Bregancon for a meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May
epa
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50/502 August 2018
Brexit Minister Dominic Raab is welcomed by French Minister attached to the Foreign Affairs Minister Nathalie Loiseau prior to a meeting in Paris
AFP/Getty
“Slashing these vital preventative services will hit the poorest hardest, and exacerbate health inequality well into the future.”
Her concerns were echoed by Clare Livingstone, of the Royal College of Midwives, who warned the cuts would only exacerbate the problems of the overburdened health service.
“We need to invest in public health, to try to make a healthier population, which will in turn reduce the stress and demand on the NHS,” she said.
“The cuts are not logical, not wise and will not serve to improve the health of the nation, including pregnant women and their babies.”
The Department of Health and Social Care has been contacted for comment.
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