Top Charities Warn Over £200m Health Cuts

Leading charities have warned that the Government's planned £200m cuts to public health budgets will cause the nation serious harm.

Charities including Macmillan Cancer Support and Diabetes UK said the cuts would also hamper attempts to reduce cost pressures in the long-term.

Chancellor George Osborne announced the move last month.

It will see money slashed from council budgets, leading to concerns it will affect obesity prevention and weight loss schemes, as well as alcohol misuse programmes.

Other services funded by local authorities' public health budgets include school nursing and screening programmes.

A letter expressing concern about the cuts has been sent to The Times signed by several charities, as well the Royal Society for Public Health.

Other signatories include the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and the Royal College of Midwives.

The letter calls for the Government to recognise that the cuts would be "deeply counter-productive to the health of our nation".

It reads: "We believe the proposed £200m of cuts to public health budgets would be harmful both to the health of the population in England and to long-term efforts to reduce cost pressures.

"Public health services target some of the most significant challenges of our time, such as smoking, alcohol misuse, obesity and inactivity.

"For the NHS and social care to cope with challenges posed by growing demand and limited resources, there needs to be an increased emphasis on preventing ill-health.

"NHS England's Five Year Forward View, which has been fully adopted by the Government, recognised this reality. It made prevention its cornerstone, establishing a consensus around which real progress could be made.

"As the Department of Health launches this consultation, we urge Government to take note of the weight of evidence and recognise that cuts to public health services would be deeply counter-productive to the health of our nation."