(1 year, 9 months ago)
Commons ChamberWe are taking action on public health across the board. The £3 billion that we are investing in the drugs strategy will create an extra 50,000 places in drug treatment. We have doubled the duty on cigarettes since 2010 and brought in a minimum excise tax. We now have the lowest smoking rate on record and will go further. The £300 million that we are investing in Start for Life means new or expanded family hubs in 75 local authorities. We are taking action right across Government, from the £55 billion that we are investing in energy support to the measures that we are taking through at the moment to crack down on non-decent housing.
My hon. Friend and I have discussed this, and we are due to meet again shortly. I repeat my offer to speak both to that practice and to local partners so that we can tackle this crucial problem.
Research by the University of Manchester adds to the significant body of evidence showing that addressing disparities in healthcare is key to levelling up. Inequalities have resulted in a 30% productivity gap in the north, which can be attributed to poorer health. Will my hon. Friend outline how the Government are working to address this and to ensure that residents of the north are not at a health and care disadvantage?
I saw that important report, and we have to tackle the problem from both the health end and the economic end. Spending on health in the north grew from £36.5 billion in 2018-19 to £52.6 billion in 2020, so there is significant investment in health and preventing ill health in the north. Economic activity stops people sliding into a cycle of ill health and worklessness, and we are working jointly with the Department for Work and Pensions to roll out more disability employment advisers in jobcentres. The underlying key is to tackle and prevent ill health, hence the £3 billion drug strategy and the measures on smoking, energy and housing.
My hon. Friend is so right. I praise her work with the APPG and I know many colleagues will want to attend. Whistleblowers can save lives and improve healthcare, as I have seen in my own constituency, and she is right to be pressing on this matter.