The government has announced a total of £13.45bn Public Health Grant funding over the coming three years. The funding brings together four funding streams along with the existing Public Health Grant.
‘We are encouraged that the government has responded to our calls for a multi-year funding settlement for the Public Health Grant with a total of £13.45bn over the next three years,’ said chair of the LGA’s Health and Wellbeing Committee Cllr Wendy Taylor. ‘We are pleased to see the grant bring together key funding streams for services including drug and alcohol treatment and recovery, support for rough sleepers, local stop smoking services, Individual Placement and Support and continued investment in the Swap to Stop scheme.’
However, services remained under ‘significant pressure’ she stated. ‘To truly deliver on prevention and reduce demand on the NHS and social care, funding needs to keep pace with inflation and rising demand. We urge the government to provide maximum flexibility within the public health ringfence, so councils can respond to local priorities and tailor services to the needs of their communities. Local leaders understand what works in their areas, and flexibility is essential to achieve the best outcomes.’
The National Audit Office has previously warned that uncertainty around future funding would mean the government struggling to meet the ambitions of the ten-year drug strategy by restricting the ability of local areas to recruit staff and plan for the future. Earlier this year Dame Carol Black told DDN that sustainable long-term funding was vital for the future of the sector. ‘We said it was a ten-year strategy, not “we’ve had three years of money and all will be well”,’ she stated. ‘All is not well. You can’t do it that quickly.’
Meanwhile, local authorities have been driving a ‘record’ expansion of stop smoking services across the country, according to analysis by ASH. More than 85 per cent of councils have increased their number of advisers to meet growing levels of demand, with the number of people successfully quitting using local stop smoking services in England up by 34 per cent since 2022-23 to more than 127,500. ‘This progress has been driven by enhanced national funding, which has now been guaranteed for the next three years,’ ASH stated.
‘This survey shows that local stop smoking services are rising to the challenge,’ said the charity’s policy and public affairs manager John Waldron. ‘They are reaching smokers in every community, tackling inequalities, and giving people the tools they need to quit for good.’
Provisional local government finance settlement 2026 to 2027 available here
Breaking new ground: local authority stop smoking services and wider tobacco control in England, 2025 available here