Public health formula for local authorities from April 2016

We updated some of the documents with corrections. The column headings in the tables showing the proportion of health visitor appointments delivered at home and in clinics have been corrected, and the average proportion of health visitor appointments at home has been amended. These changes affect the formula for children’s 0-5 in the Consultation paper; the technical guidance; and the exposition book ‘proposed target formula’.

In January 2013 the Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation (ACRA) made recommendations on the public health formula, which contains separate components to estimate the need for different public health services.

Since then, there have been significant developments, including:

• the transfer of children’s 0 to 5 public health services to local authorities from October 2015
• the identification of other relevant datasets (in sexual health and substance misuse services) for use in the formula

Additionally, the Secretary of State has commissioned ACRA to:

• update the existing public health formula to take account of the changes and recommend a revised formula that could be used to target public health resources
• develop a formula for a single target allocation covering both existing services and the newly transferred children’s 0 to 5 services

ACRA would welcome feedback on the proposed target formula for 2016 to 2017, including:

• seeking to develop a modelled standardised mortality ratio (SMR) for use in the longer term
• the 16 SMR groups outlined in the document
• the proposed new substance misuse formula component
• the proposed new sexual health services formula component
• the proposed new services for children under 5 years formula component