Plea For Increase In Merton Health Grant

---

Wandsworth receives "more than double"

Merton Council is calling on the Government to re-think the amount of money it plans to give the borough to deal with health provision.

Neighbouring borough Wandsworth is expected to receive more than double Merton's allocation for the Public Health Grant from 2013 onwards, getting £76 per head of population compared to Merton’s £36 per head.

On top of this, Merton has also received much less than boroughs of similar size for funding to help with the costs of managing the transition of public health to councils (the National Transition Grant).

Merton has been allocated £56,000 as opposed to £77,000 in Richmond, and again Wandsworth is getting nearly £40,000 more than Merton.

Merton has asked the Department of Health on two separate occasions to reconsider the allocation and to increase it in line with the borough's genuine need.

Leader of the Council, Councillor Stephen Alambritis (pictured right at the borough boundary in Wimbledon Park) said: "We are very disappointed with the amount we are due to receive from the Department for Health. As the council will be taking on more responsibility, the awarding of these grants does not reflect the additional work we will be taking on."

December 19, 2012