Government minister says health inequality that hits the women of the North is 'unacceptable'

A Government minister paid tribute to the women of the North and said helping them to live "healthier, happier, longer lives" was his number one priority.

Health minister Andrew Gwynne was speaking in parliament earlier this week in response to City of Durham MP Mary Kelly Foy, who had raised the shocking "Woman of the North" report published in September by Health Equity North and the stark statistics it contains. That report highlighted how women in our region live shorter and less healthy lives than their peers - and face challenges such as poverty and domestic abuse far more.

Speaking in Westminster, Ms Foy - who has recently recovered from breast cancer - said: "Women in the north of England face unequal challenges and inequalities in their lives and their health, compared with the rest of the country.

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"They are more likely to work more hours for less pay and be in worse health. They are also more likely to be an unpaid carer, live in poverty and have fewer qualifications. In fact, the inequality between women living in the north of England and those in the rest of the country has grown over the past decade. It has harmed women’s quality of life and work and harmed their communities and families."

She also cited evidence from the report about the impact inequality has when it comes to the region's army of unpaid carers, and the educational opportunities available to women.

The MP added: "The north is also the region of unpaid care, with 12% of women in the north-east providing it—just under 2% higher than the national average. Health Equity North estimates that women in the north are providing around £10 billion a year in unpaid care. Harrowingly, it also estimates that, in the last decade, the life expectancy of girls born in the north of England has begun to stall and in some cases decrease."

The backbencher said she welcomed much of the work done in the first months of the new Labour Government, but that she "sincerely hopes" ministers would move to end the "Tory two-child limit" on benefits.

In response, Mr Gwynne said: "While I am in this ministerial post, it will be my No. 1 aim to make sure that we live healthier, happier, longer lives. Here’s to the women of the north."

The minister - who has responsibility for public health and prevention - added: "While the report brings into focus the striking health inequalities that women in the north contend with, our Government are committed to addressing those regional inequalities head on.

"I will be clear, up front, that the conditions outlined in the report are unacceptable in a country as resourceful as ours. Women in the north face stark inequalities, not just in health but, as we heard from [Mary Kelly Foy] in economic security and social support. Our response must be to tackle those on multiple fronts, and that work has already begun."

The Woman of the North report was published in September and was produced by the Health Equity North organisation and more than 70 academics including from Newcastle, Northumbria, Teesside and Durham universities.

Findings included that girls in the North East who are aged between four and six today can only expect to live in good health for 59.7 years. That's the worst healthy life expectancy in England, the only figure under 60, and the report highlights how this is four years less than the national average, and six years less than in the South East.