§ Mr. Alfred MorrisTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to reduce regional variations in actual death rates.
§ Mr. SackvilleConcentrating effective action on reducing avoidable deaths in the five key areas of coronary heart disease and stroke, cancers, mental illness, sexual health, and accidents is a central plank of "The Health of the Nation" strategy. Within this strategy, the Government's approach to variations in health is set out in paragraphs 4.15 and 4.16 of the Green Paper—Cm 1523—and paragraph 2.5 of the White Paper—Cm 1986—copies of which are available in the Library.
In the 17 months since the strategy was launched, there has already been encouraging evidence of activity, both within the national health service and more widely. Responding to geographical and other variations in death rates from specific causes is one of the important elements of local strategies, both in the implementation of "The Health of the Nation" and in other fields of health policy—notably, perinatal and infant mortality.