Public health officers are set to return to the town hall across England in what ministers are describing as the biggest shift in power in 40 years. Amazing. The Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has said in his White Paper 'Healthy Lives, Healthy People' that councils will be tasked with improving public health and fighting obesity, alcohol, drugs, smoking and more. Ring fenced funding of £4bn may follow.
This is all very timely given the news this morning that a third of those living in the west midlands are obese. That is frightening and I really hope that councils have the appetite for their new public health role and digest it well. They should look seriously to their trading standards and environmental health practitioners to play a major part as their Public Health Officers.
Another reason not to slash and burn their budgets and to invest in their capability and future.
Let's hope they can and will use some of that ring fenced money to do so. I can see us knocking on the doors of the new Directors of Public Health. Let's hope they are open doors.
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