Research by the Health Foundation shows the value of the core public health grant has dropped each year since being redirected to local authorities in 2014/15, and is set to fall further in 2019/20. The total fall in spend per person between 2014/15 and 2019/20 is expected to reach 23.5 per cent.
Meanwhile, funding for services for children 0-5 years of age - largely spent on health visitors for infants and mothers - has also fallen.
That portion of the grant, which transferred from the NHS to local authorities partway through the 2015/16 financial year, increased in real terms from £0.6bn to £1bn in the first full year of allocation (2016/17), but by 2019/20 it is set to fall to £0.8bn.
"Simply reversing funding cuts will not be sufficient," the report states.
"Demand for children's services can be expected to increase, with projected increases in the child population and the level of child poverty".
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