§ Earl Russell asked Her Majesty's GovernmentWhether they accept the finding of the Acheson report that reductions in mortality have not been matched by any corresponding reductions in morbidity. [HL2703]
§ Baroness AndrewsThe report of Sir Donald Acheson's Independent Inquiry into Inequalities in Health, published in 1998, contained the finding that "Although death rates have fallen and life expectancy increased, there is little evidence that the population is experiencing less morbidity or disability than 10 or 20 years ago". This finding was largely based on morbidity data from the Office for National Statistics General Household Survey which show the prevalance of both long-standing and limiting long-standing illness increased steadily through the 1970s and early 1980s and that since the mid-1980s there has been no clear trend over time.