Before the General Election, David Cameron said he would not cut Tax Credits. He lied, and he cut Tax Credits. Before the General Election, David Cameron also vowed to boost NHS funding and protect our National Health Services – another pledge which has come unstuck.

Over the course of the last parliament, the Government transferred responsibility for public health from the Department of Health, to Local Government. At the time the government promised to bring public health funding in Leeds up to a “target allocation” that would meet the population needs of the city given its size and diversity. In the first year Leeds received a 10% uplift in our public health budget, but for this financial year the grant was frozen with Leeds still £6m short of the government’s own target. Then just one month after the General Election George Osborne cynically announced he was clawing back £200m from the public health services up and down the country this financial year.

He’s pretending that these are local Government cuts, but these are cuts to front line health services and Leeds will see the largest funding cut in Yorkshire.

The public health budget covers things like sexual health, school nursing, health visiting, suicide prevention, domestic violence prevention, drug and alcohol treatment services and weight loss support as well as health protection services including immunisation programmes and infection control. The Government is slashing funding to all of these, while pretending that they are protecting health spending.

In fact the largest external organisation affected in Leeds, is Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust. Definitely an NHS cut.

One group affected is Skyline. Leeds Skyline provides support services for anyone living with or affected by HIV in Leeds. Next week is HIV awareness week, at the same time as the Government is withdrawing funding for vital services for HIV+ people. It is absolutely shameful.

Leeds Labour City Council is doing everything possible to save services such as Skyline, but with the Government raiding the public health budget in Leeds in year to the tune of £2.8million, on top of the existing shortfall of £6million, this is a difficult task.

Skyline demonstrates that these cuts are not just numbers on a spreadsheet, but real people and real lives.

Councillor Lisa Mulherin, Labour’s Executive Member for Health, Wellbeing and Adults is clear about the situation:

“The government promised to protect and enhance funding for public health in Leeds when it moved across from the NHS to Leeds City Council. The events of this year clearly show they had very different intentions. They held a sham consultation over 4 weeks in the school summer holidays and are now ploughing ahead with a raid on the frontline health services we contract predominantly from the NHS and third sector in Leeds. We knew the Government had contempt for local government but this shows complete contempt for the public as well and flies in the face of the government’s claims to be protecting health services. They are not protecting health services: they are cutting them directly through us.”

The Conservatives promised to boost health spending before the election. Their decision to now slash health spending is hitting people hard.

The Government must to stick to the pledge they were elected on, and reinstate health funding to Leeds.

Councillor Jonathan Pryor – Headingley Ward