SPENDING on public health in Cumbria will dip again this year - just months after figures revealed life expectancy within the county's most poverty stricken areas is in decline.

The government is set to slash the amount of cash paid to Cumbria County Council for public health by £2.5 million from April.

The sum is the equivalent of Cumbria's entire sexual health budget or half of the annual cost of health visiting for all children under five across the county.

The drop in income means bosses will have just £37 per resident for public health over the next 12 months - one of the lowest ratios nationwide.

Government data released in January reveals average life expectancy in four of Cumbria's six districts; Barrow, Carlisle, Allerdale and Copeland, is now lower than the national average for England.

Councillor Ian Stewart, deputy leader of CCC, said the situation was becoming increasingly difficult to manage and that the county was underfunded by as much as £7 million every year.


Ian Stewart. "Given the amount of funding we have, it's a challenge.

"Public health services include encouraging people to stop smoking, it's services for people who have issues with alcohol, so people will see change as the amount of money we receive each year gets smaller.

"We are doing our best to provide public health services with the money allocated to Cumbria but it's not easy - the funding formula doesn't work for large, rural counties," he added.

Now, in a bid to help cut costs further and ease the pressure on the cash strapped council, charities in the county are now set to run some of the services traditionally provided by CCC.

This will include the mental health charity MIND providing suicide prevention training - courses that used to be subsidised by the council.

Overall, a strategic review of public health prevention services will see CCC save £75,000 during 2018/19 and £390,000 annually for a further three years to give a total reduction in public health spending of £1.245 million by 2022.

Last year CCC had the equivalent of £38 per person in public health spending power.

This was lower than the national average of £59 per person and also lower than the neighbouring counties of Lancashire, which had £59 per head and Northumberland which had £52 per head.

In London, the city of London borough received £179, Kensington and Chelsea received £135 and Westminster received £128.

Colin Cox, CCC's director of public health, said: "Going into 2018/19, the public health budget in Cumbria has been reduced by over £2.5 million since 2015.
Colin Cox.

"To put that in context, it's the equivalent of everything we spend on sexual health services, or half of what we spend on health visiting.

"Obviously we are working very hard to reduce the impact of these cuts, but there are no easy options left and it is inevitable that they will start to be felt over the next couple of years."


How long can you expect to live in Cumbria?

Data from the Office for National Statistics has confirmed the average life expectancy of people living in all six districts of Cumbria.

Allerdale:

Men - 78.6 years

Women - 82.3 years

Barrow:

Men - 76.9 years

Women - 80.8 years

Carlisle:

Men - 78.8 years

Women - 83 years

Copeland:

Men - 78.1 years

Women - 81.8 years

Eden:

Men - 80.9 years

Women - 84.8 years

South Lakeland:

Men - 80.7 years

Women - 84.7 years