A new Local Government Association report has called on the Government to introduce a national strategy to tackle health inequalities in England.
The report includes insights from the 50 areas across England, Wales and Scotland that were designated as Marmot Places following a 2010 study chaired by Sir Michael Marmot.
It says that while the Marmot approach has been ‘transformative’ in these places, the scale of health inequalities requires a ‘concerted national effort’.
Last year, research by the UCL Institute of Health Equity (IHE), which Professor Marmot directs, concluded that inequalities in life expectancy had worsened since 2010, which it linked to cuts to councils’ spending power.
Professor Marmot said: ‘IHE analysis has shown that cuts to local authorities led to stalling of life expectancy, stopped health improving and widened inequalities across the UK.
‘We are now working with more than 50 places across the country who are doing what they can, with diminished funding, to improve the lives for local people.
‘We desperately need national action to accompany these truly inspirational local initiatives on the social determinants of health.’
