Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce health inequalities in City of Durham constituency.

The United Kingdom faces significant health inequalities, with life expectancy varying widely across and within communities. The Government is committed to building a fairer Britain by tackling the structural inequalities that contribute to poor health, particularly for disadvantaged groups.

The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities’ North East and Yorkshire Regional Team collaborates with partners to provide system leadership for public health, reducing health inequalities. The team facilitates the delivery of national and local public health priorities, providing expert advice. It works with Directors of Public Health in local authorities, integrated care systems, Mayoral Combined Authorities, NHS England, and the wider National Health Service. The team also leads for public health workforce development and with Local Knowledge and Intelligence colleagues, and provides enhanced data, intelligence, and insights for population health.

North East local authorities received a total of £238 million in Public Health Grant funding for 2024/25, with Durham County Council receiving £53.9 million for 2024/25. This provides services such as stop smoking, drug and alcohol treatment, health visiting and school nursing, and sexual health, among others, all of which contribute to addressing health inequalities. Additionally, Directors of Public Health from each local authority are working in partnership with the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board to support action to address inequalities in access, experience, and outcomes associated with health care.

Existing initiatives to reduce inequalities in relation to health services, in England, include NHS England’s Core20Plus5, which focuses on improving the five clinical areas in most need of accelerated improvement in the poorest 20% of the population, along with other underserved population groups identified at a local level, including groups that share protected characteristics, and socially excluded groups such as people experiencing homelessness.

Durham County Council is one of 75 local authorities with high levels of deprivation receiving Family Hubs and Start for Life programme funding. The Government has committed a £126 million boost for families in 2025/26 to give every child the best start in life. Of this, Durham County Council will receive £1.68 million.