Men's health: a strategic vision for England equality impact assessment

Question 1

Introduction

Accepted Answer

The general equality duty that is set out in the Equality Act 2010 requires public authorities, in the exercise of their functions, to have due regard to the need to:

eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and other conduct prohibited by the act
advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not
foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not

The general equality duty does not specify how public authorities should analyse the effect of their existing and new policies and practices on equality but doing so is an important part of complying with the general equality duty.

Question 2

Men’s health: a strategic vision for England

Accepted Answer

Over the past 100 years we have seen huge improvements in the life expectancy of men. In England and Wales, a boy born in 1921 would expect to live to 56 years (reference 1) whereas a boy born in 2021 can expect to live to nearly 80 years (reference 2).

Despite these achievements, persistently over time men have experienced poorer health outcomes compared to women in terms of higher rates of disease and lower life expectancy (reference 3). Latest (2021 to 2023) Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures show that life expectancy at birth for men in England is 79.1 years compared to 83.0 years for women, a gap of around 4 years. Men in the UK also have a lower life expectancy at birth than many comparable countries internationally (reference 4). Healthy life expectancy (HLE), the average number of years someone can expect to live in good health, has fallen for both men and women in recent years. Latest (2021 to 2023) ONS figures show that HLE at birth for men in England is 61.5 years, compared to 61.9 for women (reference 5).

Major conditions such as cancer (reference 6) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) (reference 7) represent a high burden of mortality and morbidity, particularly in middle aged and older men. Suicide is one of the biggest causes of death in men under 50, with men making up 3 in 4 people who died by suicide in 2024. We also know that men are more likely to die as young adults than women (reference 8), particularly from external causes such as accidents, violence, overdoses and suicide.

There are significant health inequalities among certain groups of men. Life expectancy and healthy life expectancy for men varies by level of deprivation, with men living in the 10% most deprived areas of the country living on average 10 years fewer than those in the 10% least deprived areas in the country (reference 9), and men living in the most deprived parts of the country live on average 19 years fewer in good health than those in the least deprived.

The men’s health: a strategic vision for England:

sets out the government’s vision for men’s health over the next decade
includes new actions to improve men’s health outcomes
includes actions to measure success which will also consider the government’s equalities duty

This equalities analysis examines the potential impact of the publication and implementation of the strategy, in accordance with the Equality Act 2010. It has considered the impact of the strategy on:

eliminating discrimination
advancing equality of opportunity
fostering good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not

Question 3

Intended aims of the strategy

Accepted Answer

The strategy sets out the government’s strategic vision for improving the health of men and boys over the next 10 years.

The vision of the strategy is to improve the health of all men and boys in England by:

shining a spotlight on men’s health
tackling preventable causes of ill health common among men
taking targeted action to improve outcomes and reduce inequalities

To achieve this vision, the strategy sets out the need to focus on:

ensuring health services are engaging to men and boys and responsive to their needs
enabling structures which empower men and boys to maximise their own health and wellbeing
creating the conditions in which men and boys’ health and wellbeing can thrive

Within the strategy, areas of focus were developed based on:

analysis of existing research and evidence
views from stakeholders
expert advice from policy leads
emerging findings from the call for evidence
engagement with the newly created Men’s Health Academic Network

Consideration of health inequalities was a central thread in the development of the strategy.

The strategy brings this evidence together and sets out the following 6 levers to address men’s health:

improving access to healthcare services
supporting individual behaviours
developing healthy living and working conditions
fostering strong social, community and family networks
addressing societal norms
tackling health challenges and conditions

The strategy recognises that the context in which men are born, live and work heavily shapes their health outcomes. The strategy identifies areas for action to strengthen the building blocks for good health, such as promoting healthy settings and workplaces. Many of these issues rely on the broader work of government and society to address them.

Individual equality impact assessments will be completed for significant policy commitments within the strategy, in line with the public sector equality duty found in the Equality Act 2010.

Question 4

Who this strategy will affect

Accepted Answer

The core aim of the strategy is to improve the health and wellbeing of men and boys in England. However, we recognise that every man and boy is unique, and men’s health outcomes and needs can be influenced by intersecting factors such as:

age
sexual orientation
disability
race
gender identity
religion
class

The strategy takes a broad approach to men’s health, aiming to improve the health of all men and boys in England, but highlighting where particular groups of men may be at higher risk and where additional targeted focus may be warranted.

We have considered the impact of the strategy across the 3 requirements under the Equality Act 2010. As the strategy is targeted towards men in England, equalities analysis has primarily concentrated on the impact of the strategy on men with protected characteristics listed in the Equality Act 2010.

Question 5

Evidence

Accepted Answer

The following section provides a summary of the evidence and information used to inform the government’s assessment of the equalities impact of the strategy.

Change NHS website

The government ran an extensive public engagement exercise through the Change NHS online portal which received over 250,000 responses and informed the government’s 10 Year Health Plan.

Analysis pertinent to men’s health was shared and used to inform the strategy with survey responses broken down by sex (male or female). Primarily this included data on the experience of respondents of health services and satisfaction with the NHS.

Men’s health strategy call for evidence

In April 2025, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) launched a 12-week call for evidence to inform the men’s health strategy. The call for evidence was designed as a survey and sought the views of:

the public
health and social care professionals
academics
employers
organisations

A British Sign Language translation and an easy read version of the survey were available for individuals.

At the outset of the survey, respondents were asked to classify themselves into one of 4 categories and were presented with different questions depending on the category they chose. The numbers of responses from each category are listed below:

an individual sharing their personal views (5,909 responses)
a health or social care professional (323 responses)
an academic (71 responses)
on behalf of an organisation such as a local authority, employer, research institution, charitable organisation or a social care provider (288 responses)

Sixteen responses were received from individuals sharing their personal views through the easy read version of the survey. Those responding as an individual were also asked whether they would like to respond as a man sharing their lived experience. Men sharing their lived experience were asked additional demographic questions on their ethnic group and sexual orientation. This process was included to understand how reflective responses were of the wider population of England.

A high-level analysis of the responses to the call for evidence was used to inform the strategy.

Response rates were monitored by population characteristics while the survey was live and the call for evidence was promoted through networks to target specific groups where response rates were low. However, as had been anticipated and is common with government consultations and calls for evidence, there were groups of men that were underrepresented in survey responses.

These included:

minority ethnic groups - overall, men from minority ethnic groups were underrepresented but there were differences in the level of underrepresentation among these groups
men aged between 16 and 44 were underrepresented, but there were differences in the level of underrepresentation among these groups - 79% of men sharing their lived experience were aged 45 to 84

We recognise the association between those with lower response rates and health inequalities. Additional targeted engagement towards these groups was planned and is described below.

Deaf men’s health strategy roundtable

An engagement and listening exercise was undertaken with members of the British Sign Language Advisory Board. This included hosting a meeting to understand the views and experiences on the specific health challenges and service barriers faced by deaf men. Following the roundtable, the advisory board developed a report highlighting some of the reflections, data and research referred to during the roundtable.

This was used to understand the direct and indirect discrimination faced by deaf men (with the protected characteristic of disability).

Healthwatch

An independent survey was undertaken by Healthwatch to understand men’s knowledge, attitudes, preferences and experiences of healthcare in England. This research identified specific issues for men with protected characteristics, including but not exclusively ethnicity, age and sexual orientation, particularly in relation to services such as the NHS Health Check programme.

Publicly available reports and academic literature

The strategy has been informed by a number of externally published reports. Each section of the strategy is based on extensive research which is referenced in the strategy document.

Some important documents that were used to inform the strategy include, but are not limited to, the following:

Internal evidence reviews were also conducted including a review that synthesised evidence from ‘Men’s and boys’ barriers to health system access: a literature review’.

These documents contain a large body of evidence on men’s health outcomes, including some evidence relating to men with protected characteristics, though this was far more limited. These reports and studies, alongside the extensive evidence base referenced in the strategy, informed the equalities impact analysis and assessment of the impact on the government’s public sector equality duty.

Stakeholder engagement

The department engaged extensively with stakeholders in the field of men’s health. This included organisations from the voluntary and community sector, businesses, academia, local authorities and the NHS, among others.

Stakeholders in the voluntary and community sector often have unique insight into the inequalities faced by men with protected characteristics, and what actions are effective in tackling these. This engagement was therefore crucial to develop a broader view of the inequalities facing men and boys.

Evidence gaps

Men’s health is an emerging area of study. England will be one of a few countries to publish a men’s health strategy (following some notable examples in Ireland, Australia and others). In relation to this equality analysis, several evidence gaps were identified.

There is a lack of high-quality evidence on gender responsive policies and interventions, in particular for men with protected characteristics. The reason for this is that often interventions specifically designed for men are relatively small scale and may have limited evaluation. Studies often either do not report results of these interventions by protected characteristics or do not have a sufficient sample size to detect a result for minority groups.

We also encountered a consistent lack of UK specific evidence across men’s access to, engagement with and retention in health systems and services across the lifespan. While there is a perception that men access health services less than women, which is borne out in some data (for example, men have a lower uptake of the NHS Health Check Programme (reference 10) and bowel cancer screening programme (reference 11) compared with women), in other areas uptake of services among men is high (such as for abdominal aortic aneurysm screening where 8 in 10 men take up the programme offer, which is available to men 65 years old and over). Less is known about the access to health services for men with protected characteristics, including how to improve engagement and experience of health services for these men. This is an important gap to address, and important to the government’s public sector equality duty to tackle discrimination and promote equality of opportunity.

Generating evidence on what works to improve health outcomes for men, including men with protected characteristics, is an important component of the strategy. An academic network was established in July 2025 including leading academics from the men’s health field as well as clinicians with subject matter expertise. This group provided help in identifying and prioritising the evidence gaps for future research. The government is working with the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) to explore commissioning further research to address the highest priority evidence gaps. As further evidence is generated, it may be necessary to re-assess the equalities impact on individuals with protected characteristics to ensure the government is meeting its public sector equality duty.

Question 6

Analysis of impacts

Accepted Answer

The following section assesses the impact of the strategy towards addressing the 3 aims of the public sector equality duty set out below. As the strategy is targeted towards men in England, equalities analysis has primarily concentrated on the impact of the strategy on men with protected characteristics listed in the Equality Act 2010.

While this analysis has been completed for each protected characteristic, we know that there is significant interaction between different factors, which often compound the health risks and needs for men. This includes characteristics protected under the Equality Act 2010 alongside other factors such as deprivation, education and income. The strategy describes broad measures to improve the health and wellbeing of men by tackling common risk factors, but we recognise that these actions will not benefit all men equally. It is therefore important that policies are assessed individually for their impact against the duty set out in the Equalities Act, and that effective governance processes are established to assess their impact and mitigate against any inadvertent widening of health inequalities.

Sex

The Supreme Court has clarified that the term sex in the Equality Act 2010 refers to biological sex.

The strategy aims to improve the healthcare of all men and boys and, as such, will have a positive impact on the health of men. It does this by identifying common risk factors to ill-health in men and setting out actions to tackle these to improve health outcomes and reduce inequalities.

While research used to inform the strategy did not identify evidence of direct discrimination affecting men due to their sex (although men do face direct discrimination, this is usually due to other factors), there are examples of indirect discrimination, such as structural barriers to accessing services. Male dominated industries, such as agriculture and waste management, can carry a higher risk of occupational harms, such as exposure to substances that can increase the risk of lung disease (reference 12). Wider government action highlighted in the strategy, such as those set out in the government’s 10 Year Health Plan, is expected to have a positive impact on reducing indirect discrimination for men, by making services more accessible and engaging for men. Examples include plans for the provision of neighbourhood health centres and new tools to make it easier for men to self-refer directly into mental health services. The strategy calls for a men’s lens to be taken on wider government plans.

The strategy identifies harmful societal norms and stereotypes associated with men which can lead to behaviours that are harmful to health (reference 13), such as encouraging higher alcohol intake or lowering engagement with health services. The strategy aims to challenge harmful societal norms by promoting a positive strengths-based view of men and men’s health and tackling stereotypes which lead to discrimination.

Actions in this area aim to increase the participation of men in health services, therefore promoting equality of opportunity. New actions as well as wider government action to tackle harmful societal norms is included in the strategy, such as recently updated guidance on relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education in schools. This guidance ensures provision of positive male role models, which will promote positive relationships between men and women (and boys and girls), supporting the government’s duty to foster good relations between groups.

The strategy will advance equality of opportunity for men by highlighting areas where the building blocks for good health are lacking, such as positive social networks and a good education. For example, boys perform worse than girls on most major education indicators (reference 14) throughout their school years. Many health harming behaviours are shaped by the broader social circumstances in which people live, some of which are particularly applicable to men, such as:

rough sleeping
substance misuse
contact with the criminal justice system

The strategy highlights these areas where men face disadvantage and therefore where action is needed across government and society to advance equality of opportunity.

The strategy follows the publication of the Women’s Health Strategy for England published in 2022. The women’s health strategy is currently being updated with publication date to be confirmed. Although comparisons to women’s health outcomes are made in the strategy as a point of reference, the men’s health strategy is not a comparison between men’s and women’s health. There are some issues, such as the importance of reporting of sex disaggregated data in research and health data, that are common to both men and women. Tackling this will have mutual benefits towards identifying and tackling discrimination in both men and women, in line with the government’s duty.

The strategy highlights the role that men have in reducing violence against women and girls, recognising that men are the primary perpetrators of violence (reference 15). Broader government action to tackle violence, promote healthier relationships and address online harms would be expected to reduce discrimination and improve equality of opportunity for women and girls, while improving relations between men and women.

Disability

Disabled men have higher mortality rates than non-disabled men (reference 16). In 2020 to 2020, among disabled men who self-reported that their activities were limited a little, mortality rates were assessed as 1.7 times higher than that of non-disabled men in England. Disabled men who self-reported that their activities were limited a lot had 2.7 times higher mortality rates than non-disabled men.

Boys are more likely to be identified by schools as having special education needs and learning disabilities (reference 17), although needs may be underdiagnosed in girls (reference 18).

There is limited evidence around how policies to improve men’s health will improve the health outcomes for men with a disability relative to men more broadly. The strategy seeks to improve men’s access to services generally, including for men with a disability. Implementation of policies will consider the impact on disabled men and inform ongoing equalities analysis. Effective governance will be required to mitigate against the risk of inadvertently increasing health inequalities for these men.

The strategy highlights broader work being taken by government to support people with disabilities, such as the Get Britain Working white paper which includes 8 ‘trailblazers’ in local areas to bring together and streamline work, health and skills support for disabled people and those who are long term sick. The strategy also takes action to reduce rates of suicide, which disproportionately affects disabled men (reference 19). However, the impacts of these actions in the strategy on men with disabilities is more uncertain due to the evidence gaps in this area.

Overall, no adverse impacts of the strategy on the protected characteristic of disability were identified.

Sexual orientation

Studies have found an association between sexual orientation and health behaviours of men. For example, there is evidence to suggest that men who identify as gay or bisexual may be at increased risk of:

smoking (reference 20)
harmful levels of drinking alcohol (reference 21)
drug use (reference 22)
greater risk of mental health problems (reference 23)
self-harm and suicide (reference 24)

Gay, bisexual and men who have sex with men (GBMSM) are at increased risk of sexually transmitted infections compared with men who exclusively have sex with women. These infections include HIV, gonorrhoea and syphilis as well as newer infectious diseases to England such as mpox.

We know that the interaction between the characteristics of being male and heterosexual, homosexual or bisexual can influence health outcomes. Gay and bisexual men often face discrimination and structural stigma - societal-level conditions, cultural norms and institutional policies (reference 25) - which contribute to the health burdens experienced by gay and bisexual men.

There is limited evidence around how policies to improve men’s health will improve the health outcomes for gay and bisexual men relative to men more broadly. The strategy highlights broader government work to improve the health of gay and bisexual men, such as:

the upcoming HIV action plan
the 2025 roll out of Bexsero (4CMenB) vaccination providing protection against gonorrhoea
doxycycline for post-exposure prophylaxis for prevention of syphilis

These examples all have an implementation focus on GBMSM communities. This will support the public sector equality duty to reduce discrimination and will advance equality of opportunity for GBMSM by improving access to preventative and treatment services.

Reducing health inequalities between groups of men is a major ambition of the strategy. The strategy takes action to improve mental health, improve healthy behaviours and tackle suicide rates in men, which could provide higher benefits for gay and bisexual men due to the higher prevalence of these risk factors among this group. This would improve equality of opportunity for gay and bisexual men as set out in the public sector equality duty. However, there is limited evidence on the impact of general policies to improve men’s health on the health of gay and bisexual men. As further policies are developed and implemented, further equalities consideration will be required to assess the impact on gay and bisexual men and inform ongoing equalities analysis. A more in depth review of the inequalities facing gay and bisexual men will be taken as part of the government’s upcoming review to tackle health inequalities experienced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT+) people.

Overall, no adverse impacts of the strategy on the protected characteristic of sexual orientation were identified.

Race

The impact of ethnicity on health outcomes among men is complex and varies depending on the condition or outcome being looked at.

Data has previously shown that men from many ethnic minority backgrounds have a lower rate of overall mortality (deaths from all causes) compared with the White British population (reference 26), although there is significant variation among ethnic groups, which can also be linked with deprivation. When considering the causes of mortality, further differences emerge. For example, deaths from diabetes and heart attacks are typically highest among South Asian men (men from the Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Indian ethnic groups). For cancer there is variation by cancer site - for example, Bangladeshi and White men have among the highest rates of lung cancer, whereas Black Caribbean and Black African men have the highest rates of mortality from prostate cancer. White men appear to have the highest rates of bowel and bladder cancer, but some of the other ethnic groups such as Chinese have wide confidence intervals, making it uncertain.

Men from Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities experience some of the poorest health outcomes of any ethnic group in the UK. For example, in the 2021 Census, 36.6% of males aged 60 to 64 years who identified as Gypsy or Irish Traveller reported bad or very bad health compared with 9.5% of all males in this age group (reference 27).

Reducing health inequalities between groups of men is a major ambition of the strategy which includes reducing health inequalities between ethnic groups. The strategy highlights broader government work which is likely to benefit ethnic minority men. This includes action on CVD and diabetes - for example, new ‘prevention accelerators’ to tackle inequalities, which would be expected to disproportionately benefit South Asian men due to their higher prevalence of diabetes, advancing equality of opportunity for these groups (providing there are no countervailing inequalities in access and/or effectiveness). The strategy also highlights the TRANSFORM trial (reference 28), which will aim to address some of the inequalities that exist in prostate cancer diagnosis today. The trial will ensure that at least 10% of the men who are invited to participate in the trial are Black, addressing a critical research gap which will inform measures to tackle the indirect discrimination faced by Black men who experience a higher prevalence of prostate cancer. Expansion of lung cancer screening, highlighted through the strategy, should positively benefit Bangladeshi and White men who have the highest rates of lung cancer, which will advance equality of opportunity for these men by meeting their additional health needs.

Overall, no adverse impacts of the strategy on the protected characteristic of race were identified.

Age

Men experience a higher risk of certain conditions or risk factors at different points across their life compared with others. As shown in table 1, between the ages of 5 and 50 years, the leading causes of death in men are from intentional self-harm (and event of undetermined intent) and accidental poisoning. There is also evidence of higher levels of loneliness in younger age groups of men compared with older age groups (reference 29). People who are classified as gambling at elevated risk levels and experiencing problem gambling are typically male and in younger age groups (reference 30). After 50 years of age, chronic diseases such as heart disease and cancer become the biggest driver of mortality in men (although these also have a significant burden in men at younger ages as well).

Table 1: leading causes of death at each stage of life for men in England, 2024

Age	Leading causes of death
1 to 4	Congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities
5 to 19	Intentional self-harm (and event of undetermined intent)
20 to 34	Intentional self-harm (and event of undetermined intent)
35 to 49	Accidental poisoning (such as drug overdose) and intentional self-harm (and event of undetermined intent)
50 to 64	Ischemic heart diseases
65 to 79	Ischemic heart diseases
80 years and over	Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, and ischemic heart diseases

Source: Deaths registered in England and Wales - Office for National Statistics - 2024 refers to the year of registration of death.

The strategy takes a life course approach which focuses on understanding the changing health and care needs of men and boys across their lives. This approach aims to identify the critical stages, transitions and settings where there are opportunities to promote good health, prevent negative health outcomes and maintain good health and wellbeing. The life course approach taken in the strategy promotes equality of opportunity by identifying the needs for men at different life stages and taking targeted action to address these. For example, the strategy announces investment by government in neighbourhood-based suicide prevention support pilots for middle-aged men, recognising the disproportionate impact of suicide in this age group. It also includes investment of over £300,000 to help Rugby League Cares better understand how to reach and engage boys and young men at risk of loneliness to build their in-person connections, sense of purpose and belonging, and improve mental health literacy.

The strategy also highlights broader government work targeted at men of different ages - for example, the:

recent THINK! campaign ‘Drink a Little, risk a Lot’ that targets young male drivers
development of an NHS Health Check Online service available to men over 40 years of age

Overall, no adverse impacts of the strategy on the protected characteristic of age were identified.

Gender reassignment (including transgender)

According to the 2021 Census, 0.5% of those who responded to the voluntary question indicated that their gender identity was different from their sex registered at birth (reference 31). Analysis of primary care data found wide inequalities in the probability of self-reported mental health conditions among non-binary transgender (trans) people in England (reference 32). Research by Healthwatch identified hurdles faced by trans and non-binary individuals when accessing primary care services (reference 33) and found that these were often in addition to the difficulties faced by the general population.

The strategy does not address the specific health needs faced by trans individuals which are not experienced by the general population, but these are being considered through wider government work such as the:

The overall impact of the strategy towards advancing the aims under the public sector equality duty for people with the protected characteristic of gender reassignment (which could include both trans men and trans women) is uncertain due to a lack of high quality evidence in this area. Therefore, careful mitigation will be required in the implementation of the strategy to ensure the government is meeting its public sector equality duty.

Religion or belief

Analysis did not identify any equalities impacts of the strategy relating to men with the protected characteristic of religion or belief.

Pregnancy and maternity

Analysis did not identify any equalities impacts of the strategy directly relating to people with the protected characteristic of pregnancy or maternity.

The strategy recognises that fatherhood is a critical transition point where many men may require additional health and wellbeing support, and an important opportunity to engage men in their own health. The strategy refers to action being taken across government to improve support for expectant fathers. This includes ensuring fathers are included in the design and delivery of services through Best Start Family Hubs and Healthy Babies. We will also work with local authorities and partners to promote father inclusion by sharing best practice and using peer support forums. It also includes an action to strengthen the evidence on mental health of fathers during the perinatal period through specific research projects - for example, exploring commissioning research through NIHR on the rate of all-cause mortality and suicide-specific mortality in fathers in the year after childbirth.

These actions would be expected to benefit pregnant women indirectly as a result of the improved health of expectant fathers and will foster good relations by improving the joint understanding of the challenges experienced by prospective mothers and fathers during the perinatal period.

Marriage and civil partnership

Analysis did not identify any equalities impacts of the strategy relating to men with the protected characteristic of marriage or civil partnership.

Question 7

Engagement and involvement

Accepted Answer

Evidence and testing

A public call for evidence ran from April to July 2025 which invited views from individuals, health and social care professionals, academics and organisations. The call for evidence was promoted through DHSC communication channels and through professional networks and stakeholder organisations.

The call for evidence received a total of 6,591 responses, including:

5,909 from individuals
323 from health or social care professionals
71 from academics
288 from organisations

Organisations included voluntary and community sector organisations, including those in the men’s health field, other public sector organisations and businesses. All analysis was undertaken within DHSC. For most of the comments left by individuals, health and social care professionals and academics, there was a sufficient sample size to use automated topic modelling to identify themes. Written evidence submitted by organisations, health and social care professionals and academics was analysed thematically by government officials.

The strategy considered the emerging themes from the call for evidence, but the main findings from the call for evidence will be used to inform implementation planning, future policy development and ongoing equality analysis.

We also undertook a ministerial roundtable in June 2025 with men’s health voluntary and community sector organisations to improve understanding of the barriers men face to access, engage with and have a positive experience of the health system.

An academic network was established in July 2025 including leading academics from the men’s health field as well as clinical representatives. The network provided expert advice to government to inform development of the strategy.

Alongside this, government officials engaged on an ad-hoc basis with third sector organisations, including:

other government departments
arm’s length bodies
clinicians and researchers
business stakeholders

This was invaluable in recognising and understanding the core issues that have informed the strategy.

A non-exhaustive list of stakeholders consulted includes:

Australian Government
Cabinet Office
community and sports (Premier League, Charlton Athletic Football Club)
charities (such as Movember, James’ Place, Men’s Sheds, Samaritans, Cancer Research UK, People’s Health Trust, among many others)
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Department for Education
Department for Transport
devolved governments (Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland)
Government Equalities Office
Government Legal Department
Home Office
industry (including the Road Haulage Association and Logistics UK)
Government of Ireland
NHS England
Royal College of General Practitioners

Shaping policy or proposal

Strategy content was informed by existing academic research, emerging findings from the public call for evidence, and through extensive engagement with stakeholders. DHSC worked with departments across government to develop the policies included in the strategy. Alongside this, an open commercial market engagement process took place resulting in a number of partnership proposals being taken forward.

The vision and aims of the strategy were tested with a stakeholder forum comprising stakeholders from the voluntary and community sector working in the men’s health field, and with the Men’s Health Academic Network for challenge and scrutiny.

Evidence collated so far, including the main findings from the call for evidence, will be used to inform implementation planning, future policy development and ongoing equality analysis.

Question 8

Summary of analysis

Accepted Answer

Overall, the strategy is expected to contribute positively towards the aims of the public sector equality duty. The strategy will particularly benefit men and boys in areas where the evidence demonstrates poorer outcomes compared to the rest of the population. The analysis has set out how the strategy will:

reduce discrimination (for example, by addressing structural barriers to health services)
advance equality of opportunity (for example, through provision of improved mental health support)
foster good relations between groups (for example, by tackling harmful stereotypes)

Overall, no adverse impacts on the protected characteristics of sex were identified. This will be kept under review as we implement this strategy. The government is currently in the process of refreshing the women’s health strategy.

The strategy takes a life course approach, and some of the actions described in the strategy are targeted at men at certain ages where the need is higher due to their age. The strategy therefore should reduce indirect discrimination faced by men due to the protected characteristic of age and promote equality of opportunity through policies tailored to men of different ages based on need.

The evidence base around the impact of broad policies to improve men’s health on men with disabilities, men from ethnic minority backgrounds and for gay and bisexual men is limited. Implementation of the strategy will consider the health needs of the population, with important consideration given towards men with greatest needs, which can often include men with protected characteristics of disability and race (as well as other characteristics not covered under the Equality Act, such as deprivation).

There is a lack of evidence to assess the impact of broad policies to improve men’s health on trans or non-binary people. The specific health needs faced by trans individuals are being considered through wider government work such as the review to tackle health inequalities experienced by LGBT+ people, the adult gender services review and the Cass Review.

No equalities impact was identified for men with the protected characteristics of marital status or civil partnership, religion or belief.

A small indirect benefit on women with the protected characteristic of pregnancy and maternity was identified, resulting from the actions toward fatherhood set out in the strategy.

Overall impact

Equalities analysis indicates that the combined impact of the strategy will be positive for people with protected characteristics, and that overall, the strategy will reduce discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between those who share a protected characteristic and those who do not. Some specific risks and a lack of evidence in some places have been identified, which require careful consideration and mitigation to prevent the inadvertent widening of health inequalities.

Reducing health inequalities between men is a major ambition of the strategy, including where inequalities arise due to a man’s protected characteristic, or other disadvantage such as social exclusion and deprivation.

Addressing the impact on equalities

Ongoing consideration of the impact of the strategy on trans and non-binary people is required to ensure the government fulfils its duty under the Equality Act 2010.

A limitation of the public call for evidence was the underrepresentation among some groups of men. While we expect the men’s health strategy to have a positive impact on men with different protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010, we are aware that in some circumstances a person’s protected characteristic might influence the degree to which policies targeted at men universally will benefit them and that evidence is lacking in many areas.

To inform future policy development, and the equitable implementation of the strategy, additional research was commissioned from the University of York in collaboration with the King’s Fund to understand the views of men from groups underrepresented in the public call for evidence. The aim of this research is to explore the views and experiences of men from different backgrounds in relation to health, health-related behaviours and their access to and engagement with health services in England. Primary research will be undertaken through focus groups with diverse groups of men, supplemented by a small number of individual in-depth interviews, and will explore a range of protected characteristics.

These insights will inform implementation of the strategy by ensuring that it considers the views and experiences of men with the greatest needs, to maximise health gain and reduce inequalities. This will support the government to meet its duties under the Equality Act 2010, by enabling targeted action towards eliminating discrimination, advancing equality of opportunity and fostering relations between groups. As findings emerge, the government will re-assess the equality impact of the strategy and consider if further mitigations are required.

Monitoring and evaluation

The strategy supports the 3 shifts set out in the government’s health mission to build a health service fit for the future. These shifts are:

hospital to community
analogue to digital
sickness to prevention

The strategy will also contribute to the overarching ambition of the health mission to halve the gap in healthy life expectancy between the richest and poorest regions of England, while increasing life expectancy overall. It will also contribute to progress on broader government missions on economic growth, safer streets and opportunity.

Effective governance, leadership and implementation oversight of the strategy from government, stakeholders and other delivery partners is essential to:

ensure accountability of the strategy
ensure we reach our goals set out above
continue to build momentum on men’s health

Implementation of the strategy will be supported by the establishment of a men’s health strategy stakeholder group, collaborating closely with the broad spectrum of men’s health stakeholders, to drive forward change in men’s health outcomes.

Question 9

Conclusion

Accepted Answer

Reducing health inequalities between men is an important ambition of the strategy, including inequalities that arise due a man’s protected characteristics, or other circumstances that influence their health outcomes. The strategy will promote improved health outcomes for men with protected characteristics by shining a spotlight on these inequalities and taking action to address them, working in partnership with the health system, wider government and across society.

Overall, this equalities impact assessment analysis concludes that the strategy will have a positive benefit for men. Evidence to understand the impact on men with protected characteristics relative to men overall was somewhat limited, and it will be important that these impacts are continually assessed and monitored as policies are developed further and during implementation of the strategy. We will continuously consider the role that our governance arrangements can play in providing consideration of equalities, including their impact on the duty laid out in the Equality Act 2010.

Question 10

References

Accepted Answer

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ONS. Deaths registered in England and Wales.
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Men's health: a strategic vision for England equality impact assessment

Applies to England

Introduction