This circular sets out:

• allocations of the local government public health grant for financial year 2025 to 2026
• the conditions that will apply to that grant
• guidance intended to assist local authorities

Background

In the 2025 to 2026 financial year, the total public health grant to local authorities will be £3.858 billion. This includes the notional amounts for the 10 Greater Manchester local authorities under the business rate retention arrangement.

The allocations for 2025 to 2026 (set out in annex B and annex E in further detail) comprise an uplift for the additional recurrent pay pressures due to the 2024 to 2025 NHS pay awards.

The grant will be ring-fenced for use on public health functions.

The Secretary of State has determined, pursuant to section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003, to pay grants to relevant authorities in the amounts indicated for financial year 2025 to 2026.

This circular is accompanied by 5 annexes:

• annex A: grant determination (ring-fenced)
• annex B: public health allocations for 2025 to 2026
• annex C: reporting categories
• annex D: year-end statement of assurance letter
• annex E: public health grant allocations: 2025 to 2026 and revised 2024 to 2025 - this spreadsheet gives the allocations in more detail, alongside the revised 2024 to 2025 allocations

Annex D and annex E are available on the Public health grants to local authorities: 2025 to 2026 page.

The grant

The 2025 to 2026 grant will be paid in quarterly instalments:

• quarter 1: 4 April 2025
• quarter 2: 4 July 2025
• quarter 3: 3 October 2025
• quarter 4: 9 January 2026

Pursuant to section 31(4) of the Local Government Act 2003, the Secretary of State has attached conditions to the payment of the grant, which are set out at annex A. When assessing whether local authorities have complied with these conditions, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) will continue to look at the primary purpose of local authorities’ spending.

DHSC’s presumption is that the grant will be spent in-year. If at the end of the financial year there is any underspend, local authorities may carry these over, as part of a public health reserve, into the next financial year. In using those funds the next year, local authorities will still need to comply with the grant conditions. The department may consider reducing future grant amounts to local authorities that report significant and repeated underspends.

Reporting of grant expenditure

Local authorities will need to forecast and report against the sub-categories in the Revenue Account (RA) and Revenue Outturn (RO) returns to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), which will share data with DHSC. The main and primary purpose of all spend from the grant is public health.

Given that the RO return is used as a way of monitoring the usage of the grant, it is important that both the finance contacts and public health teams responsible for this section of financing are content with the figures submitted. Local authorities will need to ensure that the figures are verified and in line with the purpose set out in the grant conditions.

A list of the reporting categories is at annex C.

Local authorities’ chief executives (or section 151 officers) and directors of public health will also need to return a statement confirming that the grant has been spent in accordance with the conditions. The required statement is at annex D.

Year-end reporting

At the end of the financial year, local authorities will need to submit a more detailed RO return to MHCLG. Local authorities must record expenditure against each of the prescribed functions categories which are classified in annex C, to demonstrate that they are undertaking activity in these areas.

The full value of the grant must be accounted for in the RO returns. As such, the closing value of a local authority’s public health reserve minus the opening value of the public health reserve when added to the net spend reported in the year must be greater than or equal to the value of the grant for the year.

Where income relating to public health activities is received from sources other than the ring-fenced grant, and such income is recorded on the RO return as public health, then the corresponding expenditure should also be recorded as public health, and any income not spent at the year-end should be carried forward in the public health reserve.

Guidance on reporting and categorisation of spend is available to local authorities in the Service Reporting Code of Practice (SeRCOP) on how activity should be recorded against the sub-categories.

Enquiries

Enquires about this circular should be addressed to DHSC at: phgfinance@dhsc.gov.uk.

Annex A: grant determination (ring-fenced)

Determination under section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003 of a ring-fenced public health grant to local authorities for the 2025 to 2026 financial year.

Public health grant to local authorities grant determination 2025 to 2026: No 31/7616

The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (‘the Secretary of State’), in exercise of the powers conferred by section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003, makes the following determination.

Citation

This determination may be cited as the ‘Public health grant to local authorities determination 2025 to 2026: No 31/7616’.

Purpose of the grant

This grant can be used for both revenue and capital purposes.

The purpose of the grant is to provide local authorities in England with the funding required to discharge the public health functions detailed in paragraphs 4 and 5 in the main ‘Grant conditions’ section.

Grant conditions

Pursuant to section 31(4) of the Local Government Act 2003, the Secretary of State determines that the grant will be paid subject to the conditions set out under the main ‘Grant conditions’ section below.

The ring-fence on the grant will remain in 2025 to 2026.

Determination

The Secretary of State determines the authorities to which the grant is to be paid and the amount of grant to be paid in the financial year 2025 to 2026. The authorities and the amounts for the financial year 2025 to 2026 are set out in annex B and annex E in further detail.

Treasury consent

Before making this determination, the Secretary of State obtained the consent of the Treasury.

UK Government branding

The grant recipient shall at all times during and following the end of the funding period:

• comply with requirements of the branding manual in relation to the funded activities
• cease use of the ‘Funded by UK Government’ logo on demand if directed to do so by DHSC

The branding manual is the HM Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland’s ‘Funded by UK Government Branding Manual’ available at the Government Communication Service Branding page. This branding manual was first published by the Cabinet Office in November 2022 and includes any subsequent updates.

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

Simon Reeve
Deputy Director - Public Health Systems, Department of Health and Social Care

Grant conditions

1. In this determination:

• ‘an authority’ means an upper tier or unitary local authority identified in annex B
• ‘the department’ means the Department of Health and Social Care
• ‘financial year’ means a period of 12 months ending 31 March 2026
• ‘NHS body’ means an NHS body within the meaning of section 75 of the National Health Service Act 2006
• ‘grant’ means the amounts set out in annex B and annex E, the accompanying spreadsheet
• ‘upper tier and unitary local authorities’ means:
  • a county council in England
  • a district council in England, other than a council for a district in a county for which there is a county council
  • a London borough council
  • the Council of the Isles of Scilly
  • the Common Council of the City of London

Use of the grant

2. Pursuant to section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003, the Secretary of State hereby determines that the public health grant shall be paid towards expenditure incurred, or to be incurred, by upper tier and unitary local authorities in the financial year 2025 to 2026. The relevant authorities are shown in annex B and annex E.

3. Subject to paragraph 5, the grant must be used only for meeting eligible expenditure incurred or to be incurred by local authorities for the purposes of their public health functions as specified in section 73B(2) of the National Health Service Act 2006 (‘the 2006 Act’).

4. The functions mentioned in that subsection are:

(a) functions under section 2B, 111 or 249 of, or schedule 1 to, the 2006 Act

(b) functions by virtue of section 6C of the 2006 Act

(c) the Secretary of State’s public health functions exercised by local authorities in pursuance of arrangements under section 7A of the 2006 Act

(d) the functions of a local authority under section 325 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (co-operating with the police, the probation service and the prison service to assess the risks posed by violent or sexual offenders)

(e) such other functions relating to public health as may be prescribed

5. A local authority may use the grant to contribute to a fund made up of:

(a) contributions by the authority from both the public health grant and other sources of funding - for example, from other local authority funding - or from payments made by a private sector or voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector organisation; or

(b) contributions by the authority and one or more of any of the following bodies:

(i) another local authority

(ii) an NHS or other public body

(iii) a private sector or VCSE sector organisation

provided the conditions specified in paragraph 6 are met.

6. The conditions referred to in paragraph 5 are that:

(a) the fund must be one out of which payments are made towards expenditure incurred in the exercise of, or for the purposes of, the functions described in paragraph 3

(b) if payments are made out of the fund towards expenditure on other functions of a local authority or the functions of an NHS body, other public body, or a private sector or VCSE sector organisation, the authority must be of the opinion that those functions have a significant effect on public health or have a significant effect on, or a connection with, the exercise of the functions described in paragraph 3

(c) the authority must be satisfied that, having regard to the contribution from the public health grant, the total expenditure to be met from the fund and the public health benefit to be derived from the use of the fund, the arrangements provide value for money

7. A local authority must, in using the grant:

• have regard to the need to reduce inequalities between the people in its area with respect to the benefits that they can obtain from that part of the health service provided in exercise of the functions referred to in paragraph 3
• have regard to the need to improve the take up of, and outcomes from, its drug and alcohol misuse treatment services, based on an assessment of local need and a plan which has been developed with local health and criminal justice partners

8. The public health grant will only be paid to local authorities to support eligible expenditure. Grant carried over to the following year is governed by the grant conditions.

Eligible expenditure

9. Eligible expenditure means expenditure incurred by an authority or any person acting on behalf of an authority, between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026, for the purposes of carrying out the public health functions referred to in paragraphs 3 and 4.

10. If an authority incurs any of the following costs, those costs must be excluded from eligible expenditure:

(a) contributions in kind

(b) payments for activities of a political or exclusively religious nature

(c) depreciation, amortisation or impairment of fixed assets owned by the authority

(d) input VAT reclaimable by the authority from HM Revenue and Customs

(e) interest payments or service charge payments for finance leases

(f) gifts, other than promotional items, with a value of no more than £10 in a year to any one person subject to the exception in paragraph 11

(g) entertaining (entertaining for this purpose means anything that would be a taxable benefit to the person being entertained, according to current UK tax regulations)

(h) statutory fines, criminal fines or penalties

11. Expenditure on promotional items in fulfilment of the local authority’s health improvement duty under section 2B of the 2006 Act such as products, goods or services which are given for health improvement purposes may form part of eligible expenditure. This could include, for example, vouchers for gym or fitness classes, nicotine patches or other expenditure which corresponds with the health improvement objectives of the public health grant.

12. An authority must not deliberately incur liabilities for eligible expenditure before there is an operational need for it to do so.

13. For the purpose of defining the time of payments, an authority shall account for its spend from the grant using the accrual basis of accounting (for an explanation of accrual accounting please refer to the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) Code of Practice on Local Authority Accounting in the United Kingdom).

Payment arrangements

14. Grants will be paid in quarterly instalments by the department.

Reporting

End-of year reporting

15. Each authority shall prepare a return setting out how the grant has been spent using the RO form at the end of the financial year covering the period 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026. In accordance with existing practice, this will be submitted to MHCLG, which will share the information with the department. A list of the lines of expenditure (categories) that will need to be reported on is at annex C. The RO form must provide details of eligible expenditure in the period, against each relevant category.

16. The statement of assurance must be certified by the authority’s chief executive (or the authority’s section 151 officer) and the director of public health that, to the best of their knowledge, the amounts shown on the statement relate to eligible expenditure on public health and that the grant has been used for the purposes intended, as set out in this determination. Chief executives have been provided with a statement of assurance template for their signature at annex D (on the Public health grants to local authorities: 2025 to 2026 page). This should be submitted to the department at: phgfinance@dhsc.gov.uk.

17. The Secretary of State may require a further external validation to be carried out by an appropriately qualified independent accountant or auditor of the use of the grant where the RO return referred to in paragraph 16 above fails to provide sufficient assurance to the Secretary of State that the grant has been used in accordance with these conditions.

18. While the grant should not be used for interest or service charge payments or finance leases, it can be used for capital spend on items that do not entail borrowing or a finance lease. Capital expenditure should be noted as a Capital Expenditure from Revenue Account (CERA) payment on the RO form and details provided on the Capital Outturn Return (COR) form issued by MHCLG. Further guidance will be supplied with the forms that MHCLG sends out.

19. In accordance with existing practice, local authorities should send the RO to MHCLG.

Financial management

20. Each authority must maintain a robust system of internal financial controls and inform the department promptly of any significant financial control issues raised by its internal auditors in relation to the use of the public health grant.

21. If an authority identifies any overpayment of the grant, the authority must repay this amount within 30 days of it coming to their attention.

22. If an authority has any grounds for suspecting financial irregularity in the use of any grant paid under this funding agreement, it must notify the department immediately, explain what steps are being taken to investigate the suspicion and keep the department informed about the progress of the investigation. For these purposes ‘financial irregularity’ includes fraud or other impropriety, mismanagement and the use of the grant for purposes other than those for which it was provided.

External audit arrangements

23. Appointed auditors are responsible for auditing the financial statements of each authority and for reaching a conclusion on an authority’s overall arrangements for securing economy, efficiency and effectiveness in the use of resources. The use of, and accounting for, the public health grant and the arrangements for securing economy, efficiency and effectiveness in doing so fall within the scope of the work that appointed auditors may plan to carry out, having regard to the risk of material error in the authority’s accounts and significance.

Records to be kept

24. Each authority must maintain reliable, accessible and up-to-date accounting records with an adequate audit trail for all expenditure funded by grant monies under this determination.

25. Each authority and any person acting on behalf of an authority must allow: (a) the Comptroller and Auditor General or appointed representatives and (b) the Secretary of State or appointed representatives free access at all reasonable times to all documents (including computerised documents and data) and other information as is connected to the grant payable under this determination, or to the purposes for which grant was used, subject to the provisions in paragraph 27.

26. The documents, data and information referred to in paragraph 25 are such as the Secretary of State or the Comptroller and Auditor General may reasonably require for the purposes of the Secretary of State’s or the Comptroller and Auditor General’s financial audit or that any department or other public body may reasonably require for the purposes of carrying out examinations into the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which any department or other public body has used its resources. An authority must provide such further explanations as are reasonably required for these purposes.

27. Paragraphs 25 and 26 do not constitute a requirement for the examination, certification or inspection of the accounts of an authority by the Comptroller and Auditor General under section 6(3) of the National Audit Act 1983. The Comptroller and Auditor General will seek access in a measured manner to minimise any burden on the authority and will avoid duplication of effort by seeking and sharing information with the Audit Commission.

Breach of conditions and recovery of grant

28. If an authority fails to comply with any of these conditions, or any overpayment is made under this grant, or any amount is paid in error, or if an authority’s chief executive or section 151 officer and director of public health are unable to provide reasonable assurance that the RO form, in all material respects, fairly presents the eligible expenditure, in the relevant period, in accordance with the definitions and conditions in this determination, or any information provided is incorrect, the Secretary of State may reduce, suspend or withhold grant payments or require the repayment of the whole or any part of the grant monies paid, as may be determined by the Secretary of State and notified in writing to the authority. Such sum as has been notified will immediately become repayable to the Secretary of State who may set off the sum against any future amount due to the authority from central government.

Underspends

29. If there are funds left over at the end of the financial year they can be carried over into the next financial year. Funds carried over should be accounted for in a ring-fenced public health reserve. All the conditions that apply to the use of the grant will continue to apply to any funds carried over. However, where there are large underspends, the department reserves the right to reduce allocations in future years.

Annex B: public health allocations for 2025 to 2026

The table below lists the public health allocations to unitary and upper tier local authorities in England for the financial year 2025 to 2026.

The accompanying spreadsheet, ‘Annex E: public health grant allocations: 2025 to 2026 and revised 2024 to 2025’ (on the Public health grants to local authorities: 2025 to 2026 page), gives these allocations in more detail.

Ecode	Class	Local authority	Allocation for FY 2025 to 2026 (£)
E5030	LB	Barking and Dagenham	20,085,017
E5031	LB	Barnet	20,759,319
E4401	MD	Barnsley	19,731,013
E0101	UA	Bath and North East Somerset	10,900,635
E0202	UA	Bedford	10,546,556
E5032	LB	Bexley	11,756,346
E4601	MD	Birmingham	108,514,337
E2301	UA	Blackburn with Darwen	17,256,087
E2302	UA	Blackpool	21,476,010
E4201	MD	Bolton	26,129,281
E1204	UA	Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole	23,261,159
E0301	UA	Bracknell Forest	4,985,766
E4701	MD	Bradford	49,336,253
E5033	LB	Brent	26,038,160
E1401	UA	Brighton and Hove	24,297,514
E0102	UA	Bristol, City of	38,580,901
E5034	LB	Bromley	17,403,206
E0402	UA	Buckinghamshire	25,516,686
E4202	MD	Bury	14,047,148
E4702	MD	Calderdale	15,691,491
E0521	SC	Cambridgeshire	32,060,410
E5011	LB	Camden	32,539,620
E0203	UA	Central Bedfordshire	15,106,072
E0603	UA	Cheshire East	19,621,564
E0604	UA	Cheshire West and Chester	19,288,512
E5010	LB	City of London	1,908,846
E0801	UA	Cornwall	29,836,330
E1302	UA	County Durham	57,987,649
E4602	MD	Coventry	26,225,508
E5035	LB	Croydon	25,979,138
E0901	UA	Cumberland Council	13,316,443
E1301	UA	Darlington	10,054,095
E1001	UA	Derby	23,537,041
E1021	SC	Derbyshire	49,920,511
E1121	SC	Devon	33,295,547
E4402	MD	Doncaster	28,696,281
E1203	UA	Dorset	16,527,782
E4603	MD	Dudley	24,999,098
E5036	LB	Ealing	29,548,298
E2001	UA	East Riding of Yorkshire	13,187,723
E1421	SC	East Sussex	32,500,856
E5037	LB	Enfield	20,424,806
E1521	SC	Essex	72,464,845
E4501	MD	Gateshead	19,461,521
E1620	SC	Gloucestershire	28,660,380
E5012	LB	Greenwich	27,497,246
E5013	LB	Hackney	40,651,266
E0601	UA	Halton	12,153,212
E5014	LB	Hammersmith and Fulham	26,025,640
E1721	SC	Hampshire	62,059,406
E5038	LB	Haringey	24,464,000
E5039	LB	Harrow	13,259,633
E0701	UA	Hartlepool	10,307,310
E5040	LB	Havering	13,230,585
E1801	UA	Herefordshire, County of	10,724,365
E1920	SC	Hertfordshire	58,124,559
E5041	LB	Hillingdon	20,882,148
E5042	LB	Hounslow	19,162,309
E2101	UA	Isle of Wight	9,096,373
E4001	UA	Isles of Scilly	149,564
E5015	LB	Islington	32,304,215
E5016	LB	Kensington and Chelsea	24,787,527
E2221	SC	Kent	81,469,520
E2002	UA	Kingston upon Hull, City of	28,352,353
E5043	LB	Kingston upon Thames	12,359,312
E4703	MD	Kirklees	30,172,332
E4301	MD	Knowsley	20,351,278
E5017	LB	Lambeth	38,945,490
E2321	SC	Lancashire	81,175,846
E4704	MD	Leeds	53,236,029
E2401	UA	Leicester	32,069,719
E2421	SC	Leicestershire	29,858,512
E5018	LB	Lewisham	29,759,260
E2520	SC	Lincolnshire	39,076,730
E4302	MD	Liverpool	52,783,976
E0201	UA	Luton	18,344,739
E4203	MD	Manchester	62,617,546
E2201	UA	Medway	20,347,398
E5044	LB	Merton	12,592,350
E0702	UA	Middlesbrough	19,743,479
E0401	UA	Milton Keynes	13,944,718
E4502	MD	Newcastle upon Tyne	28,348,072
E5045	LB	Newham	36,209,837
E2620	SC	Norfolk	47,896,471
E2003	UA	North East Lincolnshire	13,312,442
E2004	UA	North Lincolnshire	11,075,927
E2801	UA	North Northamptonshire	20,381,148
E0104	UA	North Somerset	11,227,336
E4503	MD	North Tyneside	14,512,749
E2721	UA	North Yorkshire	25,883,334
E2901	UA	Northumberland	19,806,869
E3001	UA	Nottingham	39,620,388
E3021	SC	Nottinghamshire	48,587,751
E4204	MD	Oldham	19,853,309
E3120	SC	Oxfordshire	36,913,661
E0501	UA	Peterborough	13,177,951
E1101	UA	Plymouth	17,943,436
E1701	UA	Portsmouth	20,771,604
E0303	UA	Reading	11,603,735
E5046	LB	Redbridge	16,539,150
E0703	UA	Redcar and Cleveland	13,482,394
E5047	LB	Richmond upon Thames	11,247,069
E4205	MD	Rochdale	20,359,338
E4403	MD	Rotherham	19,420,372
E2402	UA	Rutland	1,566,498
E4206	MD	Salford	25,516,387
E4604	MD	Sandwell	29,675,528
E4304	MD	Sefton	25,646,011
E4404	MD	Sheffield	39,656,938
E3202	UA	Shropshire	14,383,544
E0304	UA	Slough	8,715,401
E4605	MD	Solihull	13,518,717
E3301	SC	Somerset	24,386,215
E0103	UA	South Gloucestershire	11,114,079
E4504	MD	South Tyneside	15,890,509
E1702	UA	Southampton	20,164,210
E1501	UA	Southend-on-Sea	11,103,848
E5019	LB	Southwark	33,384,007
E4303	MD	St. Helens	17,054,697
E3421	SC	Staffordshire	46,454,878
E4207	MD	Stockport	18,936,410
E0704	UA	Stockton-on-Tees	16,664,422
E3401	UA	Stoke-on-Trent	26,480,620
E3520	SC	Suffolk	35,036,328
E4505	MD	Sunderland	28,253,426
E3620	SC	Surrey	45,149,837
E5048	LB	Sutton	11,843,923
E3901	UA	Swindon	11,912,432
E4208	MD	Tameside	18,219,098
E3201	UA	Telford and Wrekin	14,855,841
E1502	UA	Thurrock	13,454,407
E1102	UA	Torbay	11,599,895
E5020	LB	Tower Hamlets	41,749,013
E4209	MD	Trafford	15,030,356
E4705	MD	Wakefield	28,884,657
E4606	MD	Walsall	21,016,408
E5049	LB	Waltham Forest	19,081,951
E5021	LB	Wandsworth	33,481,031
E0602	UA	Warrington	14,632,194
E3720	SC	Warwickshire	27,268,277
E0302	UA	West Berkshire	6,932,285
E2802	UA	West Northamptonshire	21,629,739
E3820	SC	West Sussex	40,852,918
E5022	LB	Westminster	37,300,606
E0902	UA	Westmorland and Furness	8,797,378
E4210	MD	Wigan	30,500,719
E3902	UA	Wiltshire	20,365,843
E0305	UA	Windsor and Maidenhead	5,516,361
E4305	MD	Wirral	34,723,450
E0306	UA	Wokingham	6,408,540
E4607	MD	Wolverhampton	24,763,931
E1821	SC	Worcestershire	35,717,438
E2701	UA	York	9,378,365

The 10 Greater Manchester local authorities (Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan) no longer receive a grant and will continue the business rate retention arrangement for public health. The funding values quoted for these areas are notional allocations only.

Local authority class definitions:

• LB - London borough
• MD - metropolitan district
• SC - shire county
• UA - unitary authority

Annex C: reporting categories

Categories for reporting local authority public health spend from 2025 - that is, RA Budget 2025 to 2026 and RO 2025 to 2026.

Prescribed functions

1. Sexual health services - STI testing and treatment

2. Sexual health services - contraception

3. NHS Health Check programme

4. Local authority role in health protection

5. Public health advice to NHS commissioners

6. National Child Measurement Programme

7. Prescribed children’s 0 to 5 services

Non-prescribed functions

8. Sexual health services - advice, prevention and promotion

9. Obesity - adults

10. Obesity - children

11. Physical activity - adults

12. Physical activity - children

13. Treatment for drug misuse in adults

14. Treatment for alcohol misuse in adults

15. Preventing and reducing harm from drug misuse in adults

16. Preventing and reducing harm from alcohol misuse in adults

17. Specialist drugs and alcohol misuse services for children and young people

18. Stop smoking services and interventions

19. Wider tobacco control

20. Children 5 to 19 public health programmes

21. Other children’s 0 to 5 services non-prescribed

22. Health at work

23. Public mental health

24. Miscellaneous - can include, but is not exclusive to:

• nutrition initiatives
• accidents prevention
• general prevention
• community safety, violence prevention and social exclusion
• dental public health
• fluoridation
• infectious disease surveillance and control
• environmental hazards protection
• seasonal death reduction initiatives
• birth defect preventions

25. Test, track and trace and outbreak planning

26. Other public health spend relating to COVID-19