The scale of the issue has led stakeholders involved in the Due North report, the Health for Wealth report and Well North to link together with leading experts from over 20 Northern universities – including Newcastle - Public Health England, the Northern Health Science Alliance (NHSA) and N8 Research Partnership, to form the Northern Universities’ Public Health Alliance (NUPHA).

The new analysis of figures, to coincide with the launch of the Northern Universities’ Public Health Alliance (NUPHA) at the International Festival of Public Health, shows in 66% of areas in the North, female life expectancy is lower than the area with the lowest female life expectancy in the South. The figure is 46% of areas for male life expectancy.

The figures also show that 88% of Northern Local Authorities have a lower female life expectancy than the England average and 86% have a lower male life expectancy.

Health inequalities worsening

Professor David Burn, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for the Faculty of Medical Sciences at Newcastle University and Chair of the NHSA, said: “We know that health inequalities across the North of England are entrenched and worsening. We also know that a third of the productivity gap between the North and the rest of the UK is due to ill health – losing £13.2bn from the UK economy each year.

“Tackling the North’s ill health is vital to growing a vibrant UK economy – an investment in the health of the North is an investment in the entire country, equipping it to move forward into a truly vibrant 21^st century economy.

“This world-leading research network gives us the opportunity for a genuinely place-based approach to tackling health inequalities.”

NUPHA aims to build on the messages of the Due North Report, the early work of the Equal North Network, and latterly the NHSA’s Health for Wealth Report. This initiative hopes to work collaboratively across the North, highlighting the gross inequalities seen within the North itself and between the North and the rest of England.

Professor Paul Johnstone, Regional Director for Public Health England (North), said: “For so long now the North lags behind the rest of the country economically and in health.

“Due North set out the evidence to underpin action on health inequalities and we have been using this in the last five years since its publication. New approaches to addressing inequalities are emerging all the time and the NUPHA will be key to supporting practitioners and decision makers with the best evidence.”

NUPHA

The NUPHA statement, signed by academics from the NHSA, N8 Research Partnership and Public Health England, states that health inequalities are an enduring challenge across the North of England with evidence that the health gap between the poorest and the richest has been increasing over recent years.

There is a substantial health gap between the North and the rest of England, with average life expectancy two years lower in the North, the NUPHA says.

According to the latest Public Health England data, 66% of Upper Tier Local Authorities (UTLAs)in the North have a lower female life expectancy than the area with the lowest female life expectancy in the South of England.  The corresponding figure is 46% for male life expectancy.

Furthermore, 88% of UTLAs in the North have a lower female life expectancy than the England average.

This disparity is further compounded by the inequalities in the health service and research funding that is received by the North compared with the rest of England.

Press release adapted with thanks to the NHSA