Mental health impact of cuts to local government spending on cultural, environmental and planning services in England: a longitudinal ecological study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Over the past decade, there have been significant and unequal cuts to local authority (LA) budgets, across England. Cultural, environmental and planning (CEP) budgets have been cut by 17% between 2011 and 2019. This funding supports services such as parks, leisure centres, community development and libraries, all of which have potential to influence population mental health. We therefore investigated whether cuts to CEP services have affected mental health outcomes and the extent to which they have contributed to mental health inequalities between areas.

Methods

Using fixed effects regression applied to longitudinal LA-level panel data in England, we assessed whether trends in CEP spend were associated with trends in mental health outcomes, between 2011 and 2019.

SUBMITTER: Fahy K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10375661 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature