Kaleidoscope.

Abstract

Life expectancy in England is related to income (and in London, it can be mapped by a resident's nearest tube station1). The arrival of a new government offers the opportunity to review the impact of earlier policies designed to reduce health inequality. A new report from the King's Fund2 has updated Michael Marmot's 2010 publication, Fair Society, Healthy Lives, and using a wider range of determinants of lifestyle and health, has found that income-related inequalities in life expectancy have improved since that report. Department of Health policies in the 2000s appear to have contributed to this, although reductions in child and pensioner poverty and improvements in employment and social housing have also impacted positively. Nevertheless, unemployment, housing deprivation, and binge drinking remain key factors in lowering life expectancy. The King's Fund report argues that a more nuanced and integrated policy response for the NHS and other public services will be required by the new government to continue to reduce inequality, but recognises that implementation in an era of austerity poses challenges, particularly for the most vulnerable.