Council chiefs have warned the decision by NHS England not to finance the commissioning of PrEP - a new HIV treatment - will put increased pressure on public health services.
NHS England has reconsidered its decision to fund the treatment, saying it does not have the legal power to commission PrEP as it is up to local authorities to fund HIV prevention services.
However, the Local Government Association (LGA) maintains that as NHS England has retained responsibility for the commissioning of HIV therapeutics, councils should not be forced to cover the cost of this treatment.
A spokesperson for the LGA said: ‘This is hugely disappointing and a missed opportunity to launch a ground-breaking method of treatment which could halt the spread of HIV and potentially save lives.
‘During the transition period to the implementation of the NHS and Care Act 2010, NHS England sought to retain commissioning of HIV therapeutics, which the PrEP treatment clearly falls into. It is, and should remain, an NHS responsibility unless it is fully funded for local authorities to pass on.’
Cllr Teresa O’Neill OBE, London Councils’ executive member for health, accused NHS England of ignoring the 'urgent representations' made about the importance of PrEP.
She said: 'In London rates of HIV transmission remain high and it is worrying to see NHS England turn its back on a drug that focuses on prevention to address one of the capital’s most significant public health concerns.
'There has already been extensive testing of PrEP which shows that 86 per cent of those at risk who take the drug are protected from contracting HIV. More testing is not needed and only funding a limited number of test sites with £1m per year over two years will be nowhere near enough to treat the number of people who need PrEP. The question of what happens to those 500 people given the drug after the two year period is over remains a worrying concern.'
Councils are facing cuts to their public health budgets of £500m over five years.
