02.03.16
'We’re not making progress' on health inequality, MPs told
Health inequality affects everyone and government is failing to do enough to tackle it, a leading public health expert told Parliament yesterday.
Professor Sir Michael Marmot, director of the Institute of Health Equity at University College London, told the Health Select Committee that health inequalities affect all classes on the social gradient and that central government are not doing enough to implement his policy proposals to make them more equal.
His research shows that people in the middle of the social gradient will have seven fewer years of healthy life than people at the top.
“The challenge is to improve things for everybody at the top, not only those at the very bottom,” he said. “We want to level up health. We’re not making progress on that.”
Public Health England figures show health inequality varies not just across the country but within council areas.
Sir Michael, who is a former president of the British Medical Association, also warned that the high levels of young people not in employment, education or training are a future public health problem.
“It’s a public health time bomb,” he said. “If they’re not employed and don’t have a future, they’re the ones who cause mayhem in the streets.”
Yesterday the NHS announced a programme of new ‘healthy towns’ with environments designed to combat problems such as dementia and obesity.