Baroness Gould of Potternewton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Gould of Potternewton on 2015-12-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment has been undertaken to ensure that reductions in the public health budget do not negatively affect those who share protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The Government reached its decisions on implementing reductions in the 2015/16 local authority public health grant after giving full consideration to its duty under the Equality Act 2010 (the public sector equality duty, or PSED). The Government’s response to a public consultation exercise, published on 4 November 2015, contains an equality analysis of the options for making the saving. A copy is attached.
Final decisions on the distribution of the grant in 2016/17 have not yet been taken, but again will be made in the light of the PSED. Government decisions on the quantum of the grant have taken account of the PSED. Local authorities are responsible for identifying local needs and priorities for public health interventions, and for making decisions on local spending. Local authorities are themselves subject to the PSED.
