Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS Long Term Plan and NHS Planning Guidance commitments for 2019-20, what progress his Department has made on ensuring that local health systems set out how they will reduce health inequalities by (a) 2023-24 and (b) 2028-29; and if he will make a statement.

As set out in the NHS Long Term Plan, an Implementation Framework will be published shortly which will set out the next steps the National Health Service will take to deliver the commitments and the national activity and support available to systems. The Implementation Framework will assist local health systems, who will build on the engagement already taking place across the country, in developing their strategic Long Term Plan implementation plan over the summer. NHS England and Improvement will then publish a national implementation plan in the autumn.

The Department wants everyone to have the same opportunity for a long, healthy life. The Ageing Society Grand Challenge sets out an ambition to ensure that people can enjoy five extra healthy, independent years of life by 2035 while narrowing the gap between the richest and poorest. This underpins the Department’s vision for putting prevention at the heart of the nation’s health.