Local authority leaders have urged the Government to reverse cuts to public health budgets in the wake of figures that reveal a third of all deaths are preventable.

Figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) on preventable deaths in the UK found there were 525,048 deaths registered in England and Wales in 2016 — a decrease of 0.9% after a large increase the previous year.

Responding to the new data, the Local Government Association (LGA) warned the ONS’ findings reveal a third of all deaths were preventable — before going on to link these deaths to Government cuts.

‘In the 21st century, a huge part of the burden of ill health is avoidable,’ said Cllr Izzi Seccombe, chairman of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board.

‘About a third of all deaths are classed as premature – they could have been prevented by lifestyle changes undertaken at an earlier time of life.

‘That equates to 44 years of lost life per 1,000 people or 2.6 million years each year across England and Wales.’

‘This is why councils, who are responsible for public health, need more funding to invest in prevention and early intervention measures to help reduce the risk of people having their lives shortened by conditions such as heart and liver disease, cancer, and Type 2 diabetes,’ she continued.

‘There also needs to be an urgent focus on tackling the social determinants of health to reduce demand on high-cost health, care and welfare services in order to make significant savings to the public purse and to help people to live longer, healthier and happier lives.’

‘To help councils reduce avoidable deaths, we urge Government to reverse reductions to councils’ public health budgets,’ Cllr Seccombe added.

Last December, the LGA attacked the Government’s slashing of public health grants as ‘short-sighted and extremely counter-productive’.

Whitehall said it would be investing more than £16bn in public health over the five years of the 2015 Spending Review, including over £3.2bn in 2018/19.

However, the LGA pointed out this represented a cut of £531m between 2015/16 and 2019/20.

William Eichler (LGA)

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