Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to close the life expectancy gap between poorer and wealthier areas and to improve health equality.

The Government is acting to reduce health inequalities by addressing the social causes of ill health, promoting healthier lifestyles for all and tackling differences in outcomes of NHS services, all underpinned by legal duties. Action is led locally to ensure the solutions put in place reflect the needs of individual communities.

There remains too much variation in terms of health outcomes overall, but life expectancy is the highest it has ever been, and in 2017 smoking rates were at an all-time low and cancer survival rates at a record high. We are investing more than £16 billion in local government services over the current spending period to help tackle public health issues – such as obesity and smoking – major causes of poor health. This is in addition to free NHS Health Checks, screening programmes and funding for campaigns such as Be Clear on Cancer.

The Government has launched a world-leading childhood obesity plan and published a Tobacco Control Plan to reduce smoking rates even further on the way to a smoke-free generation.

Addressing health inequalities is also a core part of Public Health England Mission and Strategic Vision for 2020. They have published a number of statistics, evidence reports and tools to enable local government and the wider public health system to take effective action on health equity. Examples of their work include targeted marketing campaigns on smoking cessation, specifically aimed at vulnerable groups and advocating for the NHS Health Check to be prioritised for people most at risk of cardiovascular disease.