New public health spending recommendations published

The independent governmental Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation (ACRA) has published its recommendations on how funding for public health projects will be allocated to local authorities.

It has been suggested that public health funding be ring-fenced for the first time from 2013, while the Department of Health will commit to ensuring that no local authority will lose out under the new grants for 2013-14.

As such, councils will either receive equivalent funding or be better off under the new arrangements, which will aid local efforts to improve public health and wellbeing.

Other initiatives outlined include a health premium incentive to target areas with the worst health outcomes, while ACRA will also be developing a formula for its funding distribution proposals.

Secretary of state for health Andrew Lansley said: "This is the first government to ring-fence public heath funding. The next step is to ensure that funding gets to where it is needed most and can have the greatest impact."

Earlier this year, it was predicted that doctors, nurses and other health professionals will control almost 65 billion pounds of NHS funding under the government's reform plans.