Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to half the gap in healthy life expectancy between the richest and poorest regions.

It is a priority for the Government to halve the gap between the richest and the poorest regions and to ensure that everyone, no matter where they are born, lives well for longer. We recognise that recently released Office for National Statistics Data on Healthy Life Expectancy (HLE) data is concerning and there is more we need to do.

We are tackling the root causes of the HLE gap, focusing on key prevention policies such as reducing obesity and smoking, improving NHS access and outcomes, and through coordinated cross‑Government action on wider determinants like air quality and fuel poverty.

A core mission of the 10-Year Health Plan is to reduce the persistent inequalities that shape people’s health. The plan’s three shifts all serve one purpose, to improve outcomes for the communities who face the greatest disadvantage.

We are working across Government to ensure health is embedded in the policies that shape people’s daily lives, from the homes they live in to the air they breathe. Recent cross-Government action includes the Warm Homes Plan, the Keep Britain Working Review, and the Homelessness Strategy.

We are also taking a range of cross-Government action to tackle health inequality. This includes the introduction of Awaab’s Law, ensuring landlords will have to fix significant damp and mould hazards, and legislating for a new statutory health and health inequalities duty for strategic authorities.