Autumn Budget: key implications for environmental health

The ‘big ticket’ announcement is increased spending power for local government including an additional £1.3 billion of extra grant funding for the delivery of essential services. The Local Government Department Expenditure Limits (DEL) budget will increase to £11.4 billion in 2024-25, and £14.3 billion in 2025-26. The Government have ring fenced £600 million of this for social care and £230 million to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping.

The Government have shared that they recognise the pressures that local authorities are facing and are committed to a set of reforms to return the sector to a sustainable position. We look forward to the details of the commitment to funding a multi-year settlement in the upcoming local government finance policy statement.

CIEH will engage closely with the local government finance policy statement when it is published this Autumn. In principle, the commitment to stability is a welcome one and we call on the Government to recognise the importance of protecting the funding position of councils, recognising the essential roles they play in the lives of all people across the UK. This is no truer than in environmental health departments, where EHPs ensure that the food that we eat is safe, the air that we breathe is clean and that our environments are healthy. However, these teams have long faced challenges due to funding constraints, often relying on agency staff to meet growing demands. Multi-year funding would enable local authorities to recruit, retain, and develop skilled Environmental Health Practitioners (EHPs) to provide these essential services and reduce preventable pressures on the NHS.

CIEH will be working alongside members to campaign for environmental health teams’ fair share of the Government’s funding commitment and will provide a further response and next steps following the publishing of wider finance policy statement.

The Government announced that it will take steps to transform the Apprenticeship Levy into a more flexible Growth and Skills Levy by investing £40 million, which will help to deliver new foundation and shorter apprenticeships in key sectors. The reformed levy will be developed in partnership with employers, providers, and learners. Skills England will consult with a wide range of partners in the aim to ensure that levy-funded training meets the needs of employers, providers, and learners, and secures good value for money.

We consider environmental health to be a key sector for apprenticeships. Apprenticeships are one of several means by which we would like to address the current workforce shortages and to grow the next generation of Environmental Health Practitioners. The BSc Environmental Health Practitioner apprenticeship programme has proved to be a great success, and we will continue to make the case to Skills England for a housing apprenticeship.

The Chancellor shared commitments for £3.4 billion worth of funding for heat decarbonisation and household energy efficiency over the next three years.

The Government also reaffirmed their commitment to accelerating remediation of unsafe housing following the Grenfell Tower enquiry by committing a rise to £1 billion worth of investment into remediation works in 2025-26. The Government have committed to setting out further details this Autumn.

CIEH’s manifesto agrees with the Government that making buildings and homes cleaner and cheaper to run is essential for meeting Net Zero. Whilst we welcome the investment into heat decarbonisation and household energy efficiency, we would welcome further details on how this spending commitment will help to ensure that homes achieve Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) Band 3 or equivalent by 2030.

As we shared in response to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Report, the need for well organised and properly funded housing regulation, inspection and enforcement is something that cannot be ignored. We look forward to seeing the Government’s plans for remediation works for unsafe housing when they are published.

We are concerned about the enforcement burden that the provisions of the Renters’ Rights Bill will impose on local authorities and the need for proportionate funding that is sustained and predictable. We are suggesting that local authorities should receive ring-fenced funding for housing enforcement based on the number of private rented sector dwellings registered in their areas in order to reflect their relative enforcement burdens.

The Government will publish a 10 Year Health Plan for the NHS in Spring 2025. This plan will be shaped by the experiences, views and ideas of the public, clinicians, and experts. The plan will set out reforms to transform the NHS from analogue to digital and move from a model of sickness to one of prevention while shifting care from hospital to community.

We continue to welcome the new Government’s support for preventative healthcare. CIEH works to promote the financial and societal value of preventative healthcare secured through the work of environmental health professionals. Their role is key in alleviating pressure on the NHS and reducing lost productivity by preventing illness.

It is, without doubt, important that environmental health professionals are key experts that the Government should work with to ensure that the Government consult with in the development of a 10 Year Health Plan. Guided by the expertise of our Public Health Advisory Panel, CIEH commit to engaging with the Change NHS: help build a health service fit for the future consultation and ongoing consultations from the Government on the development of this plan.

The Chancellor has allocated £58 million across 2024-25 and 2025-26 for research and innovation into climate resilience and net zero goals. This was supported by commitments to investment in the natural environment, specifically with regard to climate change adaptation and mitigation.  

The Government used the budget to highlight the steps they have taken to unblock investment into the UK’s clean energy industries including a reversed de facto ban on onshore wind in England. 

We welcome the recognition from the Government on the importance of investment into climate change adaptation and mitigation solutions. Alongside our Environmental Protection Advisory Panel’s objectives, we encourage the Government to bring environmental health perspectives to the forefront of climate change policies, to protect against unintended consequences arising from adaptation and mitigation. It is paramount that all research and innovation solutions consider a holistic approach to environmental health that does not compromise environmental and public health standards in the pursuit of net zero.  

As shared in response to the Great British Energy Bill, CIEH welcome the prioritisation of renewable energy, but continue to ask for further details on how local authorities will be funded to support renewable energy projects, as well as ensuring any moves to renewable energy sources does not threaten other areas of environmental health. 

The Government will supply £116 million in 2025-26 to the FSA to continue their delivery of the food regulatory scheme, referencing their role in safeguarding public health and protecting the interests of consumers. This represents a £7m increase on their 2023/24 budget, and £4.6m increase on their baseline 2024/25 budget. 

Investment into the food regulatory system is welcome, 2024 alone has demonstrated the importance of a robust, transparent and well-functioning food system that must be adept to the emerging risks in the food safety sector. However, CIEH would like to reiterate to the Government that it is environmental health professionals who carry out food safety inspections at the food businesses that consumers rely on. Whilst this funding is necessary, safeguarding public health requires adequate and improved funding for the enforcement body that carries out these checks on behalf of the regulator.