Summary

This chapter provides evidence of the geographical and social inequalities in health in contemporary Britain. We compare the extreme areas of Britain – using parliamentary constituencies as the geographical unit – with the lowest and highest premature mortality. We compare life chances in these areas through stages of the life-course:

• • Infant mortality is 2.0 times more likely in the ‘worst health’ compared to the ‘best health’ constituencies.

• • In the ‘worst health’ constituencies 4.2 times as many households with children live in poverty compared to the ‘best health’ constituencies.

• • In the ‘worst health’ constituencies GCSE failure rates are 1.5 times higher and post-school qualifications are half the rate of those in the ‘best health’ constituencies.

• • There are more people in social classes IV and V and less in social classes I and II in the ‘worst health’ constituencies than the ‘best health’ constituencies but this only partially accounts for the health differences between those areas.

• • The ‘worst health’ constituencies have 3.6 times as many people not working and 2.8 times as many people with a limiting longterm illness as compared to the ‘best health’ constituencies.

• • Average household incomes in the ‘worst health’ constituencies are 70% of those in the ‘best health’ constituencies.

• • The ‘best health’ constituencies have 9.1 times more households with 3 or more cars and 6.5 times more households with 7 or more rooms than the ‘worst health’ constituencies.

• • In the ‘worst health’ constituencies women aged 75-84 are 60% less likely to be married than those in the ‘best health’ constituencies because men there are more likely to die relatively early in life.