Issue - meetings

1.

Title of Item/Report

Public Health Grant Spend

2.

Record of the Decision

Consideration was given to a report Public Health Grant Spend.

Through an outcome-based review, £1m of the public health grant had been identified to realign to other areas of the Council. The work builds on existing joint working between Public Health and other services across the Council. Working with Finance, the proposed Council areas to receive realigned funding had been identified. Further work was commencing on specific public health indicators to be achieved through discussion with the relevant service areas. To satisfy Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) assurance requirements, service level agreements would articulate joint working in each Council area, use of funding and indicators which must demonstrate specific public health added value.

DHSC had implemented a new strengthened national assurance process, regarding spend of the Public Health grant (Appendix 1 of the report).  To satisfy the assurance process, written evidence in the form of service level agreements (SLAs) was required to demonstrate specific added value through use of the Public Health grant in achieving Public Health outcomes.  National guidance stipulated areas / activity the grant cannot be used for, including other areas of Council statutory activity.  Through this process, DHSC also sought to determine there was an appropriate balance between funding Public Health core services, and wider Council activity supporting Public Health.  All areas across Tees Valley and the North East were putting or had put SLAs in place.  Comparison across Councils on wider use of the grant had limited value due to: nationally recognised variation in spend captured in budget reported outturn (RO) categories; and significant variation in set-up, scope and ways of working of wider Council services.

Public Health already worked closely with a wide range of Council areas and public health funding was used across these services.  In 2025/26 a total of £4.2m expenditure across other Council services and central overheads was forecast to be funded via public health, with £3.5m being funded through the public health grant and £0.7m funded through public health reserves (Appendix 2 of the report).

The Council areas receiving public health funding had been reviewed through joint working with Finance, to ensure that they were in line with the DHSC assurance requirements and to make sure that the funding could continue through public health grant funding as the public health reserve was drawn down.  Some of the existing public health contributions would be reduced and others would increase.  The exact amounts of funding for each service would be determined once public health indicators had been specified, to ensure the funding reflected joint working and public health added value but would include:

•         Trading standards, enforcement

•         Employment & training, inclusive growth, economic and place development

•         Parks and green space, active travel

•         Homelessness (complex lives) and communities, engagement & consultation

•         Workplace health

The public health outcomes linked to these areas were detailed at Appendix  ...  view the full decision text for item 15.