iHV welcomes the new Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) briefing: Hitting the Poorest Worst? which investigates how cuts to public health budgets have resulted in substantial cuts to services, particularly among the most deprived communities in England.
Dr Cheryll Adams CBE, Executive Director iHV commented:
“This timely report from the IPPR provides further evidence that the current arrangements for funding and delivery of preventative public health services for children and families is not serving them well. Relentless, year on year budget cuts are hitting the poorest hardest. We join with colleagues across the sector calling for urgent action to establish sustainable and fairer funding mechanisms to ensure that the rhetoric of giving every child the best start in life is translated into action to make the difference.”
The briefing shows that £1 in every £7 cut from public health services has come from the ten most deprived communities — compared to £1 in every £46 in the ten least deprived places. This has meant that the total cuts in the poorest places have been six times larger than in the least deprived. Those partners with specific interests should refer to Table 1 in the report and see the service-level breakdown of cuts.
