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** 18 March 2021
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** UK
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** Small increase in public health budget sparks dismay (#1)
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** Hancock clarifies powers to appoint local leaders after criticism from the ex-NHSE chief (#2)
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** Welsh NHS and social care staff get a £735 bonus in recognition of the coronavirus pandemic contribution (#3)
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** Parliamentary Activity
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** Parliamentary questions (#4)
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** UK
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**
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** The government announced on Tuesday (16 March) that councils will be allocated £3.3 billion in public health grant funding for the next financial year, representing a small increase on last year at a time when public health has played an instrumental role in tackling the pandemic.

The final budget is £3.324 billion, a 1.4% rise from the £3.279 billion that councils received last year. Every council will receive at least a 0.67% increase. The announcement keeps the chancellor’s pledge in the last spending review that public health budgets would be “maintained,” but has dashed the hopes of many in the sector for a more generous boost to reflect their enhanced role during the pandemic. The LGA had called for public health funding to rise in line with the growth in overall NHS funding to at least £3.9 billion a year by 2024-25.

In a written ministerial statement made, health minister Jo Churchill said the £3.3 billion is made up of grant funding from the government as well as money drawn from a pilot of 100% retained business rate funding for local authorities in Greater Manchester and the baselining of local government funding for the HIV drug pre-exposure prophylaxis.

Dr Jeanelle de Gruchy, president of the Association of Directors of Public health, said: “The public health grant allocations are too little, too late. After years of cuts, and in the context of COVID-19, we are dismayed that this settlement does not reflect the immense pressures on local public health leadership and services. During 2021-22, local public health will continue to play a key leadership role in the management of COVID-19 as well as addressing the underlying health inequalities that have been exposed and exacerbated by the virus. If we are serious about learning the lessons from COVID-19, then we should be investing substantially in local public health now.”

Source: Local Government Chronicle, 16 March 2021
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** On Tuesday, 16 March, Matt Hancock told the Commons health committee that the health secretary would have a “joint role” in a wide range of appointments, having been asked about the recruitment of the “chair or chief executive of a hospital”, under his white paper proposals.

The immediate past chief executive of the NHS, Sir David Nicholson, has criticised the health secretary’s intention to take a ‘joint’ role in some senior local NHS appointments.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has, however, sought to clarify his comments, indicating that while it did plan for the health secretary to have a joint role in appointing chairs of integrated care systems, “the proposed legislation will not change the current process for appointments to trusts or foundation trusts.” The DHSC added in a statement to HSJ that the health secretary already, technically, appoints non-foundation trust chairs, but “in practice [this power] is delegated to the NHS Trust Development Authority”, which is part of NHS Improvement. The DHSC added: “In transferring TDA functions to NHS England, as part of the bill, we are retaining those legal powers.”

A DHSC spokeswoman also said: “In future, a collaborative approach between NHSE and the SofS [Secretary of State] will also be used for the appointment of the chairs of integrated care systems ensuring these important roles are accountable to the public.”

There has also been dispute over proposals to give the health secretary new additional powers of direction over NHS England when it takes on the functions currently with NHS Improvement. In relation to these, DHSC told HSJ in a statement: “Any use of this power will be subject to wider public law duties of being fair and reasonable, and any directions must be made in the public interest, be made in writing and be published… These powers will help to give the secretary of state appropriate oversight over [the expanded] NHS England, and he will be able to use them to set the strategic direction for NHS England and to intervene if strategic priorities are not being delivered by the largest arm’s length body in the NHS – as the public would rightly expect; [and] to ensure that NHS England is working effectively with other parts of the system including social care and public health to support integration and tackle broader priorities such as health inequalities.”

Source: Health Service Journal, 17 March 2021
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** Welsh Health Minister Vaughan Gething has said almost 222,000 NHS and social care staff in Wales would receive a £735 bonus payment to recognise their efforts during the coronavirus pandemic. Staff working for NHS Wales, in primary and social care, and students deployed to help professionals are all in line for the bonus, which the Welsh government will fund.

The scheme’s details are currently being worked out between the Welsh government, local authorities, and trade unions. A £500 payment for care home and domiciliary care workers was already announced last May, with the latest bonus being made available to a wider group of social care workers, including local authority social services staff.

The Welsh move comes amidst controversy in England about a 1% pay raise for NHS staff - which is essentially a cut when inflation is considered.

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** Earlier this month, Mr Gething said the Welsh Government had not tried to set a “ceiling” on any pay rise for NHS staff in Wales, saying he understood why staff in England were “hurt and upset” at a 1% increase proposed by the UK Government. He said ministers in Wales were waiting to see the NHS Pay Review Body’s recommendation, which advises on NHS staff’s pay.
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**
Source: LBC, 17 March 2021
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** Parliamentary Activity
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**

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** Electronic cigarettes: Public places

Asked by John Spellar, Warley

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to issue guidance on vaping in public places.

Answered by Jo Churchill Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health and Social Care

There are no current plans to issue further guidance on vaping in public places.

Source: Hansard, 16 March 2021

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Tobacco - Litter (Grouped questions)

Asked by Baroness Hayman of Ullock

To ask Her Majesty's Government what specific tests they plan to use to determine whether or not tobacco industry plans for a voluntary approach to preventing littering of cigarette filters will be sufficient; and what plans they have to assess such plans against the potential benefits of a mandatory extended producer responsibility scheme.

Asked by Baroness Hayman of Ullock

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the costs incurred by local authorities in dealing with cigarette butts when littered or disposed of in public bins; what that cost is estimated to be; and what is the basis on which any such cost has been calculated.

Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park, Minister of State for Pacific and the Environment

We believe that the tobacco industry must take responsibility for the litter created by its products. Our most recent composition survey found cigarette butts represent 66% of all littered items.

Preliminary research has shown an estimated cost to UK local authorities and other duty bodies of £40m per annum for the collection and disposal of littered cigarette butts, rising to £46m when including those disposed of in public bins. This has been drawn from an analysis of local authority spend on litter using local authority revenue outturns, litter composition studies across the UK and local authority surveys and interviews. This research is undergoing quality assurance and will be published in due course.

We have made clear that we will continue to monitor the available evidence on smoking related litter and that if it continues to be a significant environmental concern, we will reflect on the steps Government can take to ensure that the tobacco industry takes more responsibility. Measures in the Environment Bill will allow us to legislate for an extended producer responsibility scheme for tobacco products, if such an intervention was considered necessary.

Cigarette and tobacco product packaging will be covered by the upcoming reforms to the packaging producer responsibility scheme.

Source: Hansard, 17 March 2021
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ASH Daily News is a digest of published news on smoking-related topics. ASH is not responsible for the content of external websites. ASH does not necessarily endorse the material contained in this bulletin.

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