Port Health Guardians Deserve National Support
5th May 2011
Alan Whitehead MP today pressed the government to address the growing pressures on the guardians of public health at ports like Southampton.
Port Health Authorities guard against incoming disease in humans or animals, from contaminated food, and from dangerous merchandise coming into the UK. They have faced growing pressures in recent years- from the threat of avian flu, the threat of radioactive material from Japan, and other threats.
But funding for port health authorities comes entirely from local authorities, meaning there are additional pressures on ports like Southampton to keep the UK safe. In his speech, Alan calls for changes in the funding formula for local councils to recognise the vital work of port health authorities for the whole UK. He also calls for national support for the co-ordination of port health work from the Department of Health.
In his speech, Alan says:
"Some might see this as an additional burden placed on some particular local authorities, whereby funding has to be found from within that area but goes towards activities that, I think we will agree, are nationally significant or at the very least regionally significant in their benefit and that are undertaken on behalf of us all.
"We need at least to make allowance in the funding formula for the existence of port health alongside introducing mechanics to ensure that the load on local authorities is fairly shared to reflect the national importance of the function.
"We also need recognition of the need for national support for public health co-ordination of port health at a national level, perhaps through providing support for the Association of Port Health Authorities to carry forward national co-ordination work. "
You can read Alan's full speech on Port Health here.
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