Commenting on new data from ONS on life
expectancy in local areas, Veena Raleigh, Senior Fellow, The
King's Fund said:
‘Life expectancy[1] in vast
swathes of Britain is still below pre-pandemic levels. Compared
with 2017-19, male life expectancy in 2021-23 was just over half
a year lower for men and a quarter of year lower for women. Over
the same period, male life expectancy was lower in over 80% of
local areas and female life expectancy was lower in 70% of local
areas. At 79 years for males and 83 years for females in
2021-23, life expectancy in England is
lower than in most western European countries where, by 2023, it
had recovered to pre-pandemic levels or was slightly higher.
The data continues to show the geographical divide in health that
has blighted England for far too long, with life expectancy in
both males and females being highest in parts of southern England
and lowest in some northern areas. The gap between areas with the
highest and lowest life expectancy is now 10.3 years for
males and 0.8 years for females, wider than it was in 2021-23.
Males and females in Blackpool continue to have the lowest life
expectancy in England, 6 and 4 years lower than the national
average respectively.
Achieving the government's ambitious goal of improving healthy
life expectancy and halving the regional gap in it looks
increasingly challenging given these trends. The government will
need to invest in turning the tide on population health, which
means taking bold action to reduce the prevalence of preventable
conditions like cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Tackling the
wide geographical inequalities in ill health and premature
mortality, and the socio-economic factors that drive them, must
be a core part of these strategies if the goal of reducing the
2.8 million people unable to work because of long-term sickness
is to be achieved.
Reducing the gross health inequalities that blight our society is
both an economic necessity and a civic duty.
Ends.
Notes to editors
[1] Period life expectancy at birth is a measure of
the average number of years a newborn baby would live if the
mortality rates in a specific period remain unchanged for the
rest of the baby's life. It is not a measure of the number of
years a baby could actually expect to live, because mortality
rates will change in the future. Actual life spans will be higher
than life expectancy if mortality rates fall, and lower than life
expectancy if mortality rates rise. Although it is a hypothetical
summary measure of mortality in a given period, life expectancy
is used widely for making comparisons between and within
countries, and over time.
