Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to innovate the delivery of public health services in rural areas.

Upper tier local authorities have a statutory duty to take steps to improve the health of local people. Under this duty, local authorities commission a range of public health services and are responsible for determining the most effective approaches to the delivery of these services taking account of different local needs, including the needs of rural areas.

In 2025/26, we will provide funding of £3.858 billion to local authorities for their public health duty, through the Public Health Grant and the 100% retained business rate arrangement for local authorities in Greater Manchester. This is a cash increase of £198 million, an average 5.4% cash increase and 3.0% real-terms increase compared to 2024/25.

NHS England is responsible for commissioning further specified public health services, including national immunisation and screening programmes, under a statutory delegation from the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and informed by the recommendations of the UK National Screening Committee and the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation. Working with NHS Integrated Care Boards, commissioning of these services should also take account of local needs, including the different urban and rural characteristics of communities.