Asked by: Lord Babudu (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government in light of the data published by the Office for National Statistics on 19 February showing decreasing life expectancy for males and females and a gap in healthy life expectancy between local areas, whether they are on track to deliver the shift to sickness to prevention and the reduction in health inequalities committed to in the 10-year Health Plan for England.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Office for National Statistics’ publication on 19 February showed that healthy life expectancy decreased between 2022 to 2024, although overall life expectancy increased.
The Government is committed to ensuring everyone lives well for longer, regardless of where they are from. This is set out in our ambitious commitment to halve the healthy life expectancy gap between the richest and poorest regions.
The key to achieving this is shifting from sickness to prevention, and we are already delivering that shift. For example, through our landmark Tobacco and Vapes Bill to create a smoke-free Britain, alongside decisive action to tackle childhood obesity and create the healthiest generation of children ever. Additionally, we have fulfilled our commitment to restrict junk food advertising targeted at children on television and online.
We will be supporting people to make healthier choices when it comes to alcohol, and this includes strengthening and expanding alcohol labelling. We will also tackle air pollution, which particularly affects working class communities. This spring, we will publish the Cardiovascular Disease Modern Service Framework, which will drive action on the Government’s ambition to reduce premature mortality from heart disease and stroke through evidence-based interventions, innovation, and tackling unwarranted variation and inequalities in care.
The Government can’t do this alone. We will succeed by taking a whole society approach, and as such we will work in parentship with business, civil society, and citizens to drive our national mission and empower individuals to live well for longer.
Asked by: Lord Babudu (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in light of the data published by the Office of National Statistics about healthy life expectancy on 19 February 2026, whether they are on track to deliver the shift from sickness to prevention and the reduction in health inequalities committed to in the 10 Year Health Plan for England.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Office for National Statistics’ publication on 19 February showed that healthy life expectancy decreased between 2022 to 2024, although overall life expectancy increased.
The Government is committed to ensuring everyone lives well for longer, regardless of where they are from. This is set out in our ambitious commitment to halve the healthy life expectancy gap between the richest and poorest regions.
The key to achieving this is shifting from sickness to prevention, and we are already delivering that shift. For example, through our landmark Tobacco and Vapes Bill to create a smoke-free Britain, alongside decisive action to tackle childhood obesity and create the healthiest generation of children ever. Additionally, we have fulfilled our commitment to restrict junk food advertising targeted at children on television and online.
We will be supporting people to make healthier choices when it comes to alcohol, and this includes strengthening and expanding alcohol labelling. We will also tackle air pollution, which particularly affects working class communities. This spring, we will publish the Cardiovascular Disease Modern Service Framework, which will drive action on the Government’s ambition to reduce premature mortality from heart disease and stroke through evidence-based interventions, innovation, and tackling unwarranted variation and inequalities in care.
The Government can’t do this alone. We will succeed by taking a whole society approach, and as such we will work in parentship with business, civil society, and citizens to drive our national mission and empower individuals to live well for longer.
Asked by: Lord Babudu (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what data they hold on how air pollution impacts the health of people of different (1) ethnic groups, and (2) income levels; and whether they have identified any significant gaps in this data.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
A 2025 report by the Air Quality Expert Group highlights inequalities in exposure to air pollution across the United Kingdom, as certain minority ethnic groups are exposed to higher levels of outdoor air pollution. Additional evidence suggests that people in lower-socioeconomic groups are more likely to live in heavily polluted areas, and that more ethnically diverse neighbourhoods experience higher levels of air pollution.
Based on this evidence, the UK Health Security Agency has developed an indicator to represent population level vulnerability to air pollution in England. However, more research is needed to better understand how socioeconomically disadvantaged groups and ethnic minority communities experience the health harms of air pollution.