SEXUAL health, substance misuse, obesity and children’s health services are the hardest hit by the Tory government’s latest round of cuts to public health that affects the vast majority of councils.

Out of 152 local authorities in England, 130 (85 per cent) of them are forced to reduce their public health budgets amid cuts of £96 million this year alone compared to 2017-18.

Cuts will total £800m over six years, according to Labour’s new analysis revealed yesterday of this year’s Revenue Account Budget figures published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Ninety-five councils are cutting sexual health services as a result of a total loss of £17.6m, while help for substance misuse is being reduced by 114 councils amid a loss of £34m for these services.

Public health budgets for children’s services are being cut by £25.9m year on year and 83 councils will have had to close down these programmes this year.

Smoking cessation budgets will fall by £3.1m, resulting in 88 councils having to stop these services, and obesity budgets by £1m, with 74 councils having planned to cut relevant programmes.

This follows evidence being reported on during the summer that showed improvements in Britain’s life expectancy have stalled while drug-related deaths in England and Wales have hit an all-time high.

Sexually transmitted disease rates are also increasing, rates of smoking among pregnant women have risen for the first time on record and the number of obese children aged 10 and 11 has reached its highest.

Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth described the cuts as “shortsighted, cynical and wrong” and called on the government to reverse the cuts to public health in the Autumn Budget.

He said: “These cuts are pushing us to a public health crisis. Ahead of the government’s 10-year plan for the NHS, ministers must reverse these cuts because no plan for the NHS can work without a properly funded plan for prevention too.

“Labour is determined to narrow health inequalities in society and we’ll start by prioritising the health and wellbeing of every child.

“We will fully fund preventative public health schemes which will keep people well, particularly services for children, so that we can protect the health of the nation for generations to come.”