Public Health Outcomes Framework: commentary, May 2025
Updated 7 May 2025
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2025
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Background
The Public Health Outcomes Framework (PHOF) gives an overview of public health outcomes at national and local level, supported by a broader set of more detailed indicators. Local authorities can use the PHOF interactive web tool in Fingertips to access the data and assess progress in comparison to national averages and their peers, and develop their work plans.
New in this update
This update includes new data for 14 indicators. This commentary focuses on inequality in life expectancy at birth and at age 65. A complete list of indicators which have been updated is included in the PHOF indicator details table.
A summary of the findings for indicators on adults who are overweight or living with obesity, physical activity and inactivity, and diet can be found in the Obesity Profile: May 2025 update statistical commentary.
Summary of selected updated indicators
A02 Inequality in life expectancy at birth and at 65
In 2021 to 2023, male life expectancy at birth in England was 79.1 years and female life expectancy was 83.1. At age 65, male life expectancy was 18.7 years and female life expectancy was 21.1 years. However, there is wide inequality in life expectancy across England.
Inequality in life expectancy, by deprivation level, in the PHOF is estimated using a summary measure called the slope index of inequality (SII). This represents the range in years of life expectancy across the social gradient from most to least deprived: the higher the value of the SII, the greater the inequality within an area.
At birth, the inequality in male life expectancy was 10.5 years and in female life expectancy it was 8.3 years in 2021 to 2023. At age 65, the inequality in life expectancy for men was 5.6 years and 5.0 years for women (see figure 1).
In 2021 to 2023 there were no significant changes to the inequality gap for male or female life expectancy at birth, compared with the previous period of 2020 to 2022. For inequality in life expectancy at 65, there was a significant decrease for men in 2021 to 2023 compared with the previous period of 2020 to 2022, and no significant change for women. More generally, over the longer time period between 2011 to 2013 and 2021 to 2023, inequality in life expectancy at birth within England has widened by 1.4 years for men and 1.5 for women. At age 65 the gap has widened by 0.9 years for both sexes.
Figure 1: trends in inequality in life expectancy at birth and age 65 by sex, England 2011 to 2013 to 2021 to 2023
Source: OHID, based on Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and Office for National Statistics data
In 2021 to 2023, the largest inequality gap was in Middlesbrough where the SII in male life expectancy at birth was 17.2 years and for female life expectancy at birth it was 14.9 years. The smallest inequality gap for male life expectancy at birth was in North Norfolk (0.5 years) and for female life expectancy at birth in South Cambridgeshire (0.3 years). Middlesbrough also had the largest inequality gap in life expectancy at 65 for men (9.7 years) and women (9.7 years).
Figure 2 shows the SII in life expectancy at birth for lower tier local authorities placed into five groups known as quintiles. The 20% of local authorities with the largest SII estimates are included in the highest quintile and the 20% of local authorities with the smallest inequality gaps are included in the lowest quintile. Local authorities with the largest SII estimates, the highest quintile, are mainly located in the north of England and coastal areas.
Figure 2: inequality in life expectancy at birth by sex, lower tier local authorities in England 2021 to 2023.
Source: OHID, based on Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and Office for National Statistics data
Methodology
Full details of the methodology used are given in OHID’s Fingertips tool.
The data for 2021 to 2023 are provisional and will be updated once mid year 2023 Lower Super Output Area (LSOA) population estimates are released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Further information
The PHOF includes data for all indicators which have been updated.
For queries about this publication email pha-ohid@dhsc.gov.uk.
The next planned update is in November 2025.