Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to reduce health disparities in deprived communities in Surrey Heath constituency.

It is a priority for the Government to increase the amount of time people spend in good health and prevent premature deaths.

A core mission of the 10-Year Health Plan is to reduce the persistent inequalities that shape people’s health, including within communities. The plan’s three shifts all serve one purpose, to improve outcomes for those who face the greatest disadvantage.

We know everyday life poses greater health risks to those living in deprived communities, whether it is the price of healthy food, the level of pollution, or the quality of jobs available. Therefore, we are focussing on flagship prevention policies like reducing obesity and smoking and taking co-ordinated action across Government on the wider determinants of health priorities like air quality and fuel poverty.

We are also taking a range of cross-Government action to tackle health inequality. This includes the introduction of Awaab’s Law, ensuring landlords will have to fix significant damp and mould hazards, and we are also legislating for a new statutory health and health inequalities duty for strategic authorities.

The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities’ South East Regional Team provides system leadership for population health and reducing health inequalities across the South East, including Surrey. Local authorities, both upper tier and unitary, in England are responsible for improving the health of their local population and for reducing health inequalities. The Department provides them with the ring-fenced public health grant to carry out these duties.