Official Statistics

Health Inequalities Dashboard: statistical commentary, March 2020

Published 3 March 2020

Main findings

Inequality in life expectancy

This update shows the gap in life expectancy between the most and least deprived areas of England has significantly widened to 9.5 years for males and 7.5 years for females between the periods 2011 to 2013 and 2016 to 2018. Average life expectancy for males and females living in the most deprived areas is 73.9 and 78.6 years respectively, whereas in the least deprived areas it is 83.4 years for males and 86.3 years for females.

Life expectancy for females in the most deprived areas of England has significantly declined from 79 years in 2012 to 2014 to 78.6 years in 2016 to 2018. Male life expectancy in the most deprived decile has fluctuated between 73.9 and 74 years over the same time period. These trends have contributed to the widening of the inequality gap.

Inequality in mortality rates

Mortality rates from cardiovascular disease and cancer in people under the age of 75 continue to decrease in England, but the level of inequality between the most and least deprived areas in England has widened since 2011 to 2013. People in the most deprived areas are 4 times more likely to die prematurely from cardiovascular diseases and 2 times more likely from cancer in 2016 to 2018.

The infant mortality rate and suicide rate in the most deprived areas of England are both double that in the least deprived areas in 2016 to 2018 and this inequality has not changed significantly since 2011 to 2013.

Inequality in risk factors and social determinants of health

Smoking prevalence has reduced to 14.4% in 2018. However, the odds of being a smoker in 2018 was 2.5 times higher among those in routine and manual occupations than those in other occupations. This inequality has not changed significantly since 2013.

The percentage of the population reporting a low life satisfaction score was 2.6% among the working population, 10.3% among those unemployed and 6.6% among those classed as economically inactive in the financial year 2018 to 2019. This is an average difference of 5.8 percentage points, smaller than the difference in 2013 to 2014 which represents a narrowing of inequality.

In the financial year 2018 to 2019, the overall employment rate was 75.6% and the employment gap between people with a long-term health condition and the overall population narrowed to 11.5 percentage points, a reduction from 13.1 percentage points in 2013 to 2014.

In the academic year 2018 to 2019, the percentage of children who were eligible for free school meals and were not ready for school was 43.5%, compared with 25.7% for those who were not eligible. This inequality has narrowed since the academic year 2012 to 2013. However, children who are eligible for free school meals are still 1.7 times more likely to not be ready for school compared with children who are not eligible.

Trends in life expectancy for local authorities

The Health Inequalities Dashboard presents trends in life expectancy for local authorities. To provide a further understanding of these trends, an additional resource has been added which shows how local life expectancy has changed over a range of time periods. It also highlights that current local life expectancy in some areas is still lower than the average life expectancy for England as a whole several years ago.

Blackpool had the lowest life expectancy at birth for both males and females in 2016 to 2018, at 74.5 and 79.5 years respectively. This is significantly lower than average life expectancy in England as a whole 20 years ago (in 2000). Current life expectancy estimates in Blackpool are actually equivalent to the England average life expectancy in 1996 (for males) and 1995 (for females).

Current female life expectancy in Manchester is also significantly lower than the England average 20 years ago.

Eight local authorities had male life expectancy estimates in 2016 to 2018 which were significantly lower than the England average 15 years ago (in 2005). For females, this figure is 11 local authorities.

Fifty-seven local authorities had male life expectancy estimates in 2016 to 2018 which were significantly lower than the England average 10 years ago (in 2010). For females, this figure is 58 local authorities.

Between 2010 to 2012 and 2016 to 2018, life expectancy at birth in England increased by 0.5 years for males and by 0.3 years for females. However, not all local authorities had an increase over this period. Of the 315 English local authorities, 53 had lower male life expectancy at birth in 2016 to 2018, than in 2010 to 2012 and 72 had lower female life expectancy. However, none of these differences was statistically significant.

Background

The Health Inequalities Dashboard provides information to monitor progress on reducing inequalities within England. It presents measures of inequality for 18 indicators, each drawn from the Public Health Outcomes Framework (PHOF).

The dashboard measures trends in each indicator since a baseline period, with longer term data provided where these are available. Baseline periods vary between indicators, but all are around 2013. Inequalities are considered across a range of dimensions, including deprivation, ethnic group, sexual orientation and employment status.

The Health Inequalities Dashboard was first made publicly available in July 2017 and the webtool was launched in September 2018.

New in this update

The following changes have been made since the previous update in May 2019:

• 10 of the 18 indicators have been updated with the latest inequality data at England level
  • life expectancy at birth
  • school readiness: percentage not achieving a good level of development
  • 16 to 17-year olds not in education, employment or training
  • gap in the employment rate between those with a long-term health condition and the overall employment rate
  • smoking prevalence in adults
  • self-reported well-being: percentage achieving a low life satisfaction score
  • infant mortality rate
  • premature mortality rate from cardiovascular diseases
  • premature mortality rate from cancer
  • suicide rate
• an absolute measure, the log slope index of inequality has been added for 3 indicators: alcohol-related hospital admissions, premature mortality from cardiovascular disease, and infant mortality
• smoking prevalence and inequality data has been added for clinical commissioning groups (CCGs)
• layout of the tool has been changed to improve navigation between charts and data tables
• a download button for charts has been added
• new guidance and FAQ pages have been added and further detail has been added to the definitions tab

View the Health Inequalities Dashboard.

Responsible statistician, product lead: Laura Powell

Any queries can be directed to profilefeedback@phe.gov.uk.