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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| Call for health inequalities push | Call for health inequalities push |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| Ministers are urging local authorities in England to target problem "hotspots" after producing a detailed breakdown of public health indicators. | Ministers are urging local authorities in England to target problem "hotspots" after producing a detailed breakdown of public health indicators. |
| Health profiles, covering a range of data from life expectancy to obesity and breastfeeding, have been compiled for each council area. | Health profiles, covering a range of data from life expectancy to obesity and breastfeeding, have been compiled for each council area. |
| They show wide regional variations with the north of England often doing worse than the south. | They show wide regional variations with the north of England often doing worse than the south. |
| It comes as the government struggles to narrow regional health inequalities. | It comes as the government struggles to narrow regional health inequalities. |
| CHILD OBESITY Highest percentage rate:Hackney, London: 16.10Wakefield, West Yorkshire: 15.97Ellesmere Port and Neston, Cheshire: 14.92Ryedale, North Yorkshire: 14.85Tower Hamlets, London: 14.65Lowest percentage rate:Teesdale, Durham: 4.86South Lakeland, Cumbria: 5.29Waverley, Surrey: 5.31Brentwood, Essex: 5.46Aylesbury Vale, Buckinghamshire: 5.56England average: 9.87 | |
| Ministers in England pledged to reduce the inequality gap - measured by infant mortality and life expectancy - by 10% between 1997 and 2010. | Ministers in England pledged to reduce the inequality gap - measured by infant mortality and life expectancy - by 10% between 1997 and 2010. |
| But a government commissioned report published earlier this year showed it was still widening. | But a government commissioned report published earlier this year showed it was still widening. |
| The health profiles, which were first launched last year, give the most detailed local breakdown on a range of measures. | The health profiles, which were first launched last year, give the most detailed local breakdown on a range of measures. |
| Overall, the gap in life expectancy between the best and the worst stands at 10 years for men and nine for women. | Overall, the gap in life expectancy between the best and the worst stands at 10 years for men and nine for women. |
| Men in Kensington and Chelsea in London can expect to live for 83.1 years, while in Manchester they die at 73 on average. | Men in Kensington and Chelsea in London can expect to live for 83.1 years, while in Manchester they die at 73 on average. |
| Meanwhile, women in Kensington and Chelsea have the highest life expectancy - 87.2 years - and those in Liverpool the lowest, at 78.3. | Meanwhile, women in Kensington and Chelsea have the highest life expectancy - 87.2 years - and those in Liverpool the lowest, at 78.3. |
| The figures also show that the death rate from smoking varies three-fold from the best area, East Dorset at 139 per 100,000 people, to the worst, Knowsley at 355. | The figures also show that the death rate from smoking varies three-fold from the best area, East Dorset at 139 per 100,000 people, to the worst, Knowsley at 355. |
| Inequalities around the country are start, but the NHS and local authorities can use these profiles to target local health hotspots Dawn Primarolo, public health minister | |
| And there is another north/south divide for mothers initiating breastfeeding. Nine in 10 mothers in the London borough of Lambeth start breastfeeding, compared to just three in 10 in Knowsley. | And there is another north/south divide for mothers initiating breastfeeding. Nine in 10 mothers in the London borough of Lambeth start breastfeeding, compared to just three in 10 in Knowsley. |
| However, child obesity was highest in London's Hackney with 16% of reception children classed as obese, compared to 5% in Teesdale. The national average stood at 10%. | |
| Public health minister Dawn Primarolo said: "Inequalities around the country are stark, but the NHS and local authorities can use these profiles to target local health hotspots." | Public health minister Dawn Primarolo said: "Inequalities around the country are stark, but the NHS and local authorities can use these profiles to target local health hotspots." |
| Professor Alan Maryon-Davis, president of the UK Faculty of Public Health, said: "These figures provide a health 'MoT Test' for every council in the country, so we can see at-a-glance what needs fixing locally. | |
| "They also show that solid efforts to tackle issues like obesity or smoking can buck the north-south trend." |