PUBLIC health budgets across Dorset are to increase from April – up by £563,000 in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area, and by £399,000 in the Dorset Council area.

It will give BCP a budget of £20.6m for 2022-23 and Dorset £14.6m for public health work – although there is a warning that an unknown amount of the increases may have to be used to meet the cost of NHS pay awards, yet to be decided.

Some public health services across the county are delivered jointly, others individually in each council area.

For shared services in the year ahead an increase of £110,000 has been allocated to support breastfeeding peer support work and to help with LiveWell Dorset services with include programmes to tackle weight, drinking and smoking.

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An extra £30,000 has also been set aside to commission an oral health survey, in line with a national programme. This follows concerns about the lack of availability in NHS dentistry.

Other work being considered for the year includes developing wellbeing and health messages using social media for children and young people, the use of staff working with young people to encourage behaviour change and health improvement with children and supporting the Pause programme for vulnerable women who are at risk of having their children removed because of welfare concerns.

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A paper before the county’s Joint Public Health Board this week says that preventative work can produce long-term cost-savings. It cites at Action of Smoking and Health calculation which suggest that in 2021 smoking will cost £7.8m to the economy in the BCP area and £8.7m in the Dorset council area.