The Department of Heath has cut its annual grant to ASH by 25 per cent.

The news was revealed yesterday in an answer to a parliamentary question by Conservative peer Lord Naseby:

Action on Smoking and Health
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 8 December, how much grant the Department of Health will provide to Action on Smoking and Health in the current financial year, and whether they will place a copy of any grant application and award letter in the Library of the House.

Replying on behalf of the DH, Lord Prior of Brampton wrote:

The Department will provide a grant of £150,000 to Action on Smoking and Health in the 2015/16 financial year. This grant is awarded under Section 64 of the Health and Social Care Act 1968.

£150k represents a 25 per cent cut on ASH's previous grant of £200k a year so the Government is moving - albeit slowly - in the right direction.

Helpfully Lord Prior provided a copy of the signed award letter, including the "detailed deliverables" of the grant.

You can download and read it here.

Note: Lord Naseby asked – and received answers to – several more questions about ASH and the group's debatable use of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Smoking and Health to further its cause.

I'll post more on this subject later. In the meantime you can read the Q&As in full here.