Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the White Paper Industrial Strategy: Building a Britain fit for the future, published on 27 November 2017, what steps the Government is taking to ensure the equality of health outcomes between the north and south of England.

The causes of health inequalities are multi-faceted and highly complex. The Department’s aim is to take action to promote and support people to have healthier lifestyles and to tackle differences in access to, and outcomes from, our health and public health services. Action is led locally to ensure the solutions put in place reflect the needs of individual communities.

To help we are investing more than £16 billion in local government public health services over the current spending period, in addition to free National Health Service vaccination and screening programmes, as well as funding for campaigns such as Be Clear on Cancer. These public health grants are ring-fenced, and are provided with a condition that health inequalities are considered in local spending.