HC Deb 20 May 1997 vol 294 cc492-3
2. Mr. Llew Smith

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the degree of health deprivation in the United Kingdom. [405]

The Minister of State, Department of Health (Ms Tessa Jowell)

Social class inequalities in enjoyment of good health exist from cradle to grave and are compounded by inequalities relating to ethnic background, gender and region. A child born to parents in social class V can expect to live seven years less, on average, than a child born to parents in social class I.

The Government are not prepared to tolerate that degree of inequality, which is why, as promised in our manifesto, we have put improving the nation's health at the heart of our agenda in government.

Mr. Smith

Would my hon. Friend care to comment on recent Government statistics showing that, in my constituency, we have some of the lowest income levels in the United Kingdom and some of the worst health problems—41 per cent. of families having a member who is long-term sick or disabled? What is the Government's strategy and policy to respond positively to that problem of health deprivation in communities such as Blaenau Gwent?

Ms Jowell

I thank my hon. Friend for his question. We aim to tackle poverty and inequality through our commitment to helping people move from welfare to work, to ending poverty pay by introducing a national minimum wage, and to improving housing conditions by the phased release of local authority capital receipts. Improving the health of our nation and tackling the legacy of inequality are not just matters for the Department of Health but a job to be confronted across government—and it will be.

Mrs. Marion Roe

As a former Chairman of the Health Committee, I should like to congratulate the Minister and her team on their appointments and to wish them well.

Has the Minister yet had time to study the Department of Health's statistics on the quality of health outcomes in the United Kingdom, such as the dramatic fall in perinatal mortality? Is it not true that, after 18 years of Conservative government, Britain is a much healthier country than it was in 1979?

Ms Jowell

All the figures tell a story of endemic inequality. Babies in poorer families are more likely to die in the first month of life than babies from better-off families. That is why our policy for attacking inequality and its root causes involves a strategy for improving the nation's health to be pursued across all aspects of government.