CIEH calls on Government to allocate “sustained and predictable” funding for Environmental Health profession

The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) has called on the Government to allocate sustained and predictable funding in its upcoming Spending Review to support Environmental Health teams in Local Authorities to keep communities safe and healthy for years to come.

Following on from Monday’s (10 February) BBC Panorama episode which underlined the impact of damp and mould on people’s health, CIEH is highlighting the urgent need for sufficient funding for local authorities and specifically Environmental Health teams.

CIEH recognises that people’s lives are being impacted severely as a result of poor housing conditions, as outlined in Monday’s programme, and now, with the Government Spending Review on the horizon, we are at a critical juncture where changes must be made in order to protect public health.

Environmental Health professionals work tirelessly to support their communities, working with tenants to protect their health and with landlords to find solutions to the issues being addressed. Where necessary, formal enforcement action may be taken as a last resort.

Better resourcing of the profession is needed so that they can fulfil their roles in helping to reduce ill health and ultimately save lives.

Mark Elliott, President of CIEH, said:

“Our members are incredibly passionate about protecting the health and wellbeing of their communities and ensuring people have a safe place to live. However, more support is needed to help them to deliver this incredibly important work.

“The upcoming Spending Review offers a real opportunity for the Government to allocate and ring-fence critical resources to support the training of Environmental Health Officers (EHOs), tackle the ongoing workforce challenges in the profession and help our members do the vital work they do every day.

“This funding also needs to be sustained and predictable so it ensures a long-term solution to the severe issues being faced by local authority teams, rather than just a sticking plaster which will only provide a short-term impact.

“We will continue to push the Government to give Environmental Health professionals the attention and resources they desperately need and ultimately make our communities healthier and safer.”

CIEH and its members have been a driving force in trying to improve housing standards and in lobbying Government in this area.

Read more about a recent success here: https://www.cieh.org/news/press-releases/2024/cieh-hails-major-victory-on-the-use-of-licensing-schemes-to-improve-housing-standards/