Public health cuts must be avoided, new PM told

Cuts to public health budgets will hit poorest communities the hardest, the new government is being warned.

Directors of public health say local authorities - which pay for initiatives such as smoking cessation services - are on a financial cliff edge.

Rising inflation means ventures will cost more to run. Any reduction in funding in next week's spending announcement will have a direct impact on the lives of the most vulnerable, they said.

David Finch, assistant director of healthy lives at The Health Foundation, said: "Public health interventions have been shown to be really cost effective. Investing in these preventative measures that help to keep people in good health in the first place means you're protecting against future costs to the economy and society by keeping people healthy and reducing poor health in the future."

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Source: BBC News, 26 October 2022