In an open letter published ahead of the Autumn Budget, the Association of Directors of Public Health (ADPH) said the Government had made a ‘very positive start' on improving public health.

The letter, which was signed by 47 organisations including the NHS Confederation, welcomed the Child Poverty Taskforce, and efforts to restrict junk food advertising and the sale of tobacco.

However, it called for a £1.4bn increase of the public health grant in England to restore it to the real-terms equivalent of 2015/16 per person levels.

It also urged the Government to take a ‘coherent, cross-government' approach to public health, which would involve every Government department playing its part in achieving a healthier society.