Think tank report on 'bad health blackspots' published
The report draws on 2021 census data to identify the proportion of the population in every local authority area in England and Wales who self report that they are in bad health and who self report as economically inactive.
The report shows that the UK now has among the largest health inequalities of any advanced economy, with one in every four people in England and Wales who are economically inactive living in the unhealthiest 50 local authorities. Almost one in every 10 people in Liverpool, Manchester and Nottingham, report that they are in bad health, compared to around one in 33 in West Oxfordshire.
The IPPR recommends the following actions to tackle inequalities in health and economic activity between regions:
- Devolving fiscal powers to mayors so they can introduce local taxes on things like alcohol, junk food and tobacco
- Funding new good health schemes to the tune of £3 billion and allocated to local authorities through formula rather than competitive funding
- A recruitment drive for expert public health specialists, alongside the creation of new local apprenticeship opportunities and establishing a National Health Volunteering Service
Alongside the report, the IPPR has published an interactive map of all local authorities in England and Wales. You can use the map to identify the percentage of your local area which self reports poor health and economic inactivity
Click below to read the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) report
