Uplifts to the public health grant for 2025-26 confirmed: Food Active response

Today the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) have announced a £200m funding boos to the public health grant, equating to an increase of 3% real terms from 2024-25.

The public health grant is ring-fenced and paid to local authorities from DHSC budget. It is used to provide vital preventative services that help to support health, including promoting healthier weight and tackling health inequalities.

According to the Health Foundation, local authority public health interventions funded by the grant provide excellent value for money, with each additional year of good health achieved in the population by public health interventions costing £3,800. This is three to four times lower than the cost resulting from NHS interventions of £13,500.

However, the grant has been decimated over the last decade – cut by 28% on a real terms per person basis since 2015/16. These continued cuts have significantly affected local authorities’ ability to invest in public health and facing difficult decisions including closing weight management services. All the while, the health of the population, particularly in our most deprived communities, continues to worsen.

Today, the DHSC have announced a £200m funding boost for the public health grant, increasing to £3.858 billion for 2025-26. The investment is said to be a key part of the government’s Plan for Change, shifting the focus from hospital to community and from sickness to prevention to build a more sustainable, fit for future NHS.

Nicola Calder, Food Active Programme Lead, said:

We strongly welcome today’s announcement of an uplift to the public health grant.

Over the last decade, the local authorities we work with in the North West and beyond have been facing a perfect storm of funding cuts combined with growing and more complex health needs of the populations they serve.

However, this funding boost only claws back a small percentage of the 28% cut between 2015/16-2024-25. We urge the government to consider how they can restore the funding fully and offer multi-year settlements to enable more effective long-term planning of services and resource.

Read the full press release here.