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According to new data, councils in England, Wales, and Scotland face a budget gap of over £3 billion for the next financial year.
Figures obtained through freedom of information requests and compiled by trade union Unison reveal that councils are expecting a record overall £3.09 billion shortfall in 2022-2023. Unison said that given the scale of cuts councils have already had to make in recent years, “any further reductions would strip even more essential services to the bone or remove them completely.”
One of the largest shortfalls is Newcastle City Council, which must make up a £94 million gap in the next financial year, on top of £305 million the council has lost from its budget since 2010.
Many councils are faced with budget gaps despite already significantly scaling back their services. Hackney Council faces an £11 million deficit in a London borough where 48% of children live in poverty. The council has already cut several teaching assistants jobs. Unison says this will “particularly disadvantage children with learning difficulties, behavioural issues or where English is not the first language.”
Unison general secretary Christina McAnea said: “These council funding shortfalls will result in cuts that are likely to hit the poorest in society hardest. The government must step up and help local councils desperately trying to keep afloat. If Boris Johnson is serious about levelling up, this money must be found. Ministers cannot allow a two-tier society to develop where some of the most in need are left behind.”
Source: Local Government Chronicle, 25 August 2021
See also: Unison - Councils across England, Wales and Scotland face a £3bn funding black hole next year
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According to a new analysis, a rush to cut NHS waiting lists for surgeries like hip replacements could inadvertently worsen health inequalities with richer patients being treated sooner.
The Health Foundation think tank study has identified a large gap between the most and least deprived parts of London in terms of the number of admissions for hip surgery during 2020, as the NHS recovered from the first wave of Covid.
While the most deprived parts of London saw a 30% decline in admissions for hip replacements during 2020, the least disadvantaged areas of the city saw only a 15% decline. Disparities are also regional, with London being able to return to pre-Covid levels of hip surgery but lagging in other parts of the country. The Health Foundation found that Midland and the North-eastern and Yorkshire regions were the most affected, with 50% less hospitalisation.
The Health Foundation said there would have been more than 19,000 hip surgeries by the end of 2020 if all areas of England had recovered to the same extent as London. The Health Foundation team also looked at the diagnosis of diabetes, which affects nearly 5 million people in the UK. It warned that delays in diagnosis and treatment could have severe impacts on patients and the NHS.
Across England, there were 26% fewer new cases of type 2 diabetes diagnosed in 2020 compared to 2019, equivalent to 40,000 missed cases. Referrals to diabetes management schemes to help people live with the condition were also down 35%. The report warned some patients the delays could lead to severe consequences.
Charles Tallack, assistant director of the Health Foundation, said: “There will be waiting lists for some time to come. Clearly, there will be [a] desire to reduce waiting lists and get waiting times back to more usual levels. There is a risk here that if we don’t get this right, it could exacerbate existing inequalities.”
Source: Independent, 26 August 2021
See also: The Health Foundation – Waiting for care
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According to a new interactive map, Oxford East is the Oxfordshire constituency with the highest prevalence of smokers – 13.5%, placing it joint 251st in the country. On the other hand, Witney had the lowest prevalence of smokers at 10.3%, putting it joint 69th in the country.
This map comes as new research funded by Cancer Research UK has suggested that the number of young adults who smoke in England rose by a quarter in the first lockdown. However, it also showed more people successfully stopped smoking. The research found a 25% increase in 18 to 34-year-olds who smoke, which translated into a rise of more than 652,000 young adults.
Researchers from University College London and the University of Sheffield also said there was an increased prevalence of high-risk drinking among all groups (40%), but the rise was greater among women (55%) and people from less advantaged backgrounds (64%).
Michelle Mitchell, Cancer Research UK’s chief executive, said: “The upcoming tobacco control plan for England is a key opportunity for the Government to reduce smoking rates, but this can only be achieved with sufficient investment. A Smokefree Fund, using tobacco industry funds, but without industry interference, could pay for the comprehensive measures needed to prevent people from starting to smoke and helping those who do, to quit.”
Deborah Arnott, chief executive of ASH, said: “…The Government has committed to publish a new Tobacco Control Plan this year, which is welcome. However, the new figures provide proof, if it were needed, that unless the plan is sufficiently ambitious and well-funded, it will not deliver the Government’s ambition for England to be smoke-free by 2030.”
Source: Oxford Mail, 26 August 2021
See also: Addiction - Moderators of changes in smoking, drinking and quitting behaviour associated with the first COVID-19 lockdown in England
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A new study suggests that exposure to tobacco smoke during pregnancy and early childhood can significantly accelerate the process of biological ageing, which has been associated with a higher risk of metabolic, cardiovascular or neurodegenerative diseases.
Researchers examined early life exposure to tobacco smoke and other environmental factors among 83 prenatal infants and 103 babies. They also measured the epigenetic age of 1,173 children between ages six and 11 from the Human Early Life Exposome (HELIX) project.
Their findings reveal exposure to maternal tobacco smoke during pregnancy shows a clear link to accelerated epigenetic ageing. After birth, the team also discovered a link between two other kinds of environmental exposures — parental smoking and indoor levels of black carbon. The latter is an air pollutant resulting from the incomplete combustion of fuels.
The authors concluded that these associations do not prove causality, but this and future early life exposome studies will help guide health policies to reduce certain environmental exposures and promote a “healthy ageing” from early life stages.
Source: Science Daily, 26 August 2021
See also: Science Direct - The early-life exposome and epigenetic age acceleration in children
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