A study conducted by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) has shown that recent austerity measures have led to councils extensively cutting down on the provision of environmental health services, the FT has reported.

Pest control has been the service worst hit, with 70 per cent of the 139 councils surveyed responding that they’d stopped providing that function over the past three years; restaurant inspections and dealing with contaminated land were also cited as services affected.

The CIEH has warned that further cuts to public spending, which councils expect to be in the region of 30 per cent for 2015-16, will have serious consequences for businesses and the long term health of UK citizens due to these services diminishing further.

It is now down to local government to find more innovative solutions in order to cut costs while still maintaining the majority of their functions. Outsourcing remains a prominent choice, while councils in Suffolk, Kent and a number of other counties are positioning themselves as commissioners and trading companies rather than direct service providers, in order to deliver maximum value to the taxpayer.

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