The UK Government has confirmed that local authorities across England will receive a total public health grant of £3.66 billion for the financial year 2024-2025, providing much-needed resources to support health and wellbeing initiatives.
This funding includes an uplift to cover the in-year cost impact of NHS pay awards for health services commissioned by local authorities, ensuring that frontline care and public health services remain sustainable.
The grant remains ring-fenced for public health purposes, meaning that councils must use the funds to improve health outcomes and reduce inequalities in their communities. This is particularly significant for residential and nursing homes, where local public health initiatives play a crucial role in infection control, vaccinations, mental health support, and staff training.
Quarterly Payments for Stability
Local authorities will receive the grant in four quarterly instalments:
• Quarter 1: 5 April 2024
• Quarter 2: 5 July 2024
• Quarter 3: 4 October 2024
• Quarter 4: 3 January 2025
The structured payment schedule aims to provide financial stability, allowing councils to plan and implement health programmes effectively.
Local authorities will be required to report their spending through Revenue Account (RA) and Revenue Outturn (RO) returns, ensuring transparency in how funds are allocated. Any underspend may be carried forward as part of a public health reserve, though the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has indicated that repeated significant underspends could lead to reductions in future grant allocations.
David Buck, Senior Fellow at The King’s Fund, said: ‘The £3.9 billion public health grant for 2025/26 represents a welcome, real terms increase on the previous year. We are yet to see government announce the separate budgets for council drug and alcohol services, so it is hard to say if there will be an overall increase in council public health budgets, but today’s announcement is a positive sign.
‘The public health grant is the bread and butter for local authorities implementing services to improve people’s health. A particularly important task at a time when Britons are spending more years of their life in poor health, and millions are out of work due to long term illness.
‘The government has stated its welcome ambition to shift from treatment to prevention, but there is a long way to go. This country plans to spend over £3000 per person on the NHS next year, compared to less than £70 per person for local authorities to prevent people from getting ill in the first place. The contrast is stark.
‘The allocation of this grant comes against a tight financial backdrop across all government departments. But the rising burden of disease across the country is itself hampering economic growth. Without further ramping up investment and resources in preventive services, it will be hard to realise one of the government’s essential goals – shifting from treatment to prevention.’
Nuffield Trust Chief Executive Thea Stein said: “After years of arbitrary and irrational cuts, today’s announcement of a 5.4% uplift to the Public Health Grant is a welcome move by government, backing up its promise to shift health care more into the community and focus on prevention.”
“Public health support – from health visitors to sexual health and drug and alcohol services – can make a real difference to people’s lives. But it has long been the poor relation to the NHS, suffering the largest fall in funding compared to other NHS services according to recent analysis.”
“Ultimately, how far today’s boost will really go depends on what happens to staff wages, which can quickly eat up funding in these services, and whether traditionally separate funding for drug and alcohol services sits within this extra money.”
