Minister denies councils will use public health money for filling potholes in roads

Local authorities will not be able to use public health funding for questionable purposes such as filling in potholes in roads once they take control of public health budgets, MPs have been told.

MPs on the parliamentary health select committee tackled government witnesses as part of their final evidence session of the ongoing inquiry into public health on 19 July.

Several concerns about how public health money will be spent once it passes into the control of local authorities as part of the NHS reforms had been brought to the attention of the committee.

MPs asked about fears that local authorities would spend public health funds on what might seem to be …