ArticleBMC public health2023
Mental health impact of cuts to local government spending on cultural, environmental and planning services in England: a longitudinal ecological study.
Article in BMC public health, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Comparative effectiveness of non-pharmacological interventions for social anxiety disorder in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Pooled it
- Article
- Impact of 15 years of social, political and economic shocks on population mental health in the UK: a longitudinal, Bayesian quasi-experimental analysis.BMJ mental health · 2026Article
- Is there an association between mental health and economic prosperity? A longitudinal ecological study in England, 2011-2019.BMJ open · 2026Article
- Social isolation in mid-life: associations with psychological distress, life satisfaction and self-rated health in two successive British birth cohorts.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2026Article
- A new era of inequality: profound changes to mortality in England, Scotland, and 10 major British cities.European journal of public health · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundOver 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.
methodsUsing 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. The exposure was CEP spend and the primary outcome was the LA-average Small Area Mental Health Index (SAMHI). Additionally, we considered subcategories of CEP spend as secondary exposures, and antidepressant prescription rate and self-reported anxiety levels as secondary outcomes, both aggregated to LA-level. We adjusted all models for confounders and conducted subgroup analysis to examine differential mental health effects of spending cuts based on the level of area deprivation.
resultsThe average decrease in CEP spend of 15% over the period was associated with a 0.036 (95% CI: 0.005, 0.067) increase in SAMHI score, indicating worsening mental health. Amongst subcategories of CEP spending, cuts to planning and development services impacted mental health trends the most, with a 15% reduction in spend associated with a 0.018 (95% CI: 0.005, 0.031) increase in the SAMHI score. The association between cuts in CEP and deteriorating mental health was greater in more affluent areas.
conclusionCuts to spending on cultural, environmental, planning and development services were associated with worsening population mental health in England. Impacts were driven by cuts to planning and development services in particular. Reinvesting in these services may contribute to improved public mental health.
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