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You are here: DH home - Policy and guidance - Health and social care topics - Health inequalities

Health inequalities

Over the last 50 years, there have been impressive social economic and health improvements in this country. People from every class and region are healthier and living longer than ever before. Unfortunately, not everyone is able to share the benefits of these improvements. It is essential that everyone is empowered and encouraged to do so.

Health inequalities are unacceptable. They start early in life and persist not only into old age but subsequent generations. Tackling health inequalities is a top priority for this Government, and it is focused on narrowing the health gap between disadvantaged groups, communities and the rest of the country, and on improving health overall. Concerted action to reduce the health gap permeates our programmes within the Department of Health and is supported across Government.

The Health Inequalities Unit (HIU) is a small team in the Department of Health with a cross government focus. The work of the unit is shaped by a Public Service Agreement (PSA) target to reduce inequalities in health outcomes by 10 percent by 2010, as measured by infant mortality and life expectancy at birth.

PSA target

The documents below show the latest monitoring data for the two specific objectives relating to the 2004 Health Inequalities PSA Target – infant mortality and life expectancy. The latest data shows that there has been, as expected, a widening of these inequalities reflecting the long-term trend. To review this data in a wider context, further information is available in Tackling Health Inequalities: Status Report on the Programme for Action.

Wider Social Determinants

Health inequalities are the result of a complex and wide-ranging network of factors. People who experience material disadvantage, poor housing, lower educational attainment, insecure employment or homelessness are among those more likely to suffer poorer health outcomes and an earlier death compared with the rest of the population.