Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to help raise life expectancy in areas of high deprivation.

Life expectancy differs dramatically between and within communities, and people living in the most deprived areas are more likely to die earlier and spend more years in ill health than those living in the least deprived areas.

Tackling health inequalities is central to our Health Mission, which is why the Government has committed to halving the healthy life expectancy gap between the richest and poorest regions. We are taking a cross-Government mission-led approach to tackle the root causes of health inequalities, addressing the adverse social determinants of health which contribute to poorer outcomes.

Addressing healthcare inequity is a core focus of the Government’s 10-Year Health Plan, to ensure the National Health Service is there for anyone who needs it, whenever they need it. We have established 11 working groups to take forward policy development that will feed into the plan. This includes working groups focused on how care should be designed and delivered to improve healthcare equity, alongside ensuring that access to healthcare services is effective and responsive.