A month of Burnham: what it means for environmental health

It's now just over a month since Andy Burnham, the former Mayor of Greater Manchester, became Prime Minister and walked through the doors of Number 10.

A month is not a long time, but it is long enough to start getting a sense of where a government is heading - and the implications for environmental health.

Early signals from government

Take fly-tipping, for example. An issue that sits squarely within the profession's remit, it is now the subject of action from the very top. The Prime Minister has announced a crackdown on the criminal gangs profiting from illegal waste, with fines rising from £300 to £5,000, new powers to seize offenders' cash, cars and homes, and more Environment Agency officers working alongside the police and the National Crime Agency. Three of the country's largest illegal dumps will be cleared, and mayors will take the lead on enforcement in their own regions. For the Environmental Health Professionals (EHPs) who investigate and enforce against fly-tipping on the ground, the direction is welcome. The test now is whether these powers are matched with the resourcing that local authority teams need to act on them.

In fact, acting on long-festering issues has been the theme of this first month. Burnham's day one commitment on homelessness has been backed by £442 million in funding, with the aim of giving everyone who needs it a route off the streets by Christmas.

For EHPs working in housing, this matters. Getting someone off the street is only the beginning. The accommodation they move into still needs to be safe, warm and fit to live in. If the government meets its Christmas target, pressure on temporary accommodation and the private rented sector is likely to increase. That will make the capacity of councils to inspect and enforce housing standards even more important.

Housing more broadly has also given us an early indication of the government’s approach. Angela Rayner is back at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and has confirmed the government will rely on legislation already in place rather than introduce another layer of regulation.

Devolution and local government reform

Then there is devolution, arguably the biggest structural change announced so far. Mayors will gain new powers and will be able to retain a portion of locally raised income tax and business rates, replacing grant funding and giving them a longer-term funding stream with fewer Whitehall constraints. The detail is expected on 28 October when John Healey presents the Budget.

Local government reorganisation will remain one to watch. Councils going through Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) are expecting shadow elections in May 2027, with existing authorities ceasing to exist on 1 April 2028. Whenever structures and responsibilities change, there is a risk that regulatory services get overlooked.

But devolution also creates an opportunity. If mayors and strategic authorities are going to have more control over local funding, they need to understand what environmental health does and why it matters. Environmental health is not always an obvious part of the conversation about devolution, but much of the work is inherently local. The case for investment will need to be made locally, and CIEH will be helping EHPs to explain what that looks like in practice.

Prevention and public health

Health is another area where the direction of travel is beginning to emerge. Prevention has so far had little visible prominence. Yet, devolution, housing and the cost of living are all, in practice, questions about the conditions in which people live, and those conditions are where ill health begins. If the government is serious about tackling the causes of ill health rather than simply dealing with its consequences, environmental health should be part of that conversation.

Government is about what happens, not just what is announced. Burnham’s first month has seen successive heatwaves, wildfires and drought conditions, and a national Salmonella outbreak declared this week with more than 200 confirmed cases and one death. The profession has been at the sharp end throughout. And there was a win for the profession's voice too, when the new National Planning Policy Framework restored the requirement to mitigate and reduce noise impacts to a minimum, following joint work by CIEH and the Institute of Acoustics. Proof that when the profession engages, it can shape national policy.

Looking ahead

Of course, what has not come up yet is just as worth noting. A month in, that is not necessarily surprising. Governments have a long list of priorities when they take office and not everything can be addressed immediately. As well as the Budget setting out spending priorities, the next few months will give us, through the promised ten-year plan a clearer indication of what kind of public services and preventative approach Burnham wants to build.

What we can already see is a clear direction of travel on housing, devolution and prevention, all areas where environmental health has a role to play. The challenge now is making sure that role is recognised before decisions are made, rather than having to explain its importance afterwards. That is something we are actively working to address, ensuring that the views of environmental health professionals and our members are part of these conversations from the outset.

Photo: Andy Burnham © House of Commons, licensed under CC BY 3.0.