Devon losing out on at least £25m of public health funding

Devon is missing out on around £25 million of funding that would go towards supporting the health of its citizens.

The county is ranked close to the bottom of authorities across England when it comes to the amount of government funding it receives per head to support public health initiatives such as community nursing, children’s health, and drug and alcohol abuse services.
At just £37 per head, Devon gets a total of £31 million for public health funding, but Steve Brown, director of public health and communities for Devon County Council said this was well below most of its peers in England.
“It’s a ski slope and we’re right at the bottom,” he said. “Devon ranks as 143 out of 153 councils that are responsible for health.
“If we were to receive the average – which would be £67 per head – we would get an additional £25 million.”
The comments came at Devon’s health and adult care scrutiny committee (Thursday 21 November), where members were assessing progress in various areas of health and social care across the county.
The committee was told that various measures announced in chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Budget last month were “unclear” in terms of their impact locally.
Ms Reeves pledged an increase in grant funding to councils including £600 million nationally for social care – both adults and children’s – as well as an increase of £86 million to the Disabilities Facilities Grant.
The committee also heard that the care watchdog, the Care Quality Commission, was likely to visit Devon by autumn next year.
Members were told that around 46 per cent of councils have now been notified of their inspection dates, with one in 10 receiving final reports.