Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of health inequalities in coastal communities.

The Honourable Member for Bridlington and the Wolds is right that coastal communities face unique challenges when it comes to health inequalities. Through our health mission, we are looking to halve the gap in healthy life expectancy between the richest and poorest regions.

The NHS also has a programme to reduce health inequalities in the most deprived 20% of the population and improve outcomes for groups that experience the worst access, experience, and outcomes within the NHS. 6 Coastal Integrated Care Boards have been launched in coastal communities and are working to reduce economic inactivity as a mechanism for reducing health inequalities.