Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Government's Industrial Strategy: Building a Britain Fit for the Future, published on 27 November 2017, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of poor health outcomes in the north of England on that region’s productivity.

Health inequalities are a challenging and complex area - deeply rooted, difficult to turn around and driven by a variety of factors. There is too much variation but smoking rates are at an all-time low and cancer survival rates at a record high. This Government is committed to creating a society where everybody gets the opportunity to make a success of their hard work – regardless of where they are from.

Public Health England is working at national, regional and local level to support partners to use tools and evidence when developing action to address inequalities. It has produced a number of data and analysis tools to help places to understand the health of their populations and the issues driving ill health and health inequalities. These include a profiling tool on wider determinants of health, health economics resources and a prioritisation tool to support evidence-based spending decisions. Further information is available at the following link:

https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/wider-determinants

The Health Profile for England, published in July 2017 and updated regularly, includes a detailed analysis of patterns and trends in health inequality at national and local levels. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-profile-for-england