Ministers in local health drive

The government has announced £34m of funding to help tackle health inequalities in deprived areas.

Health secretary Alan Johnson said on Monday that life expectancy had improved steadily in the last 10 years, with infant mortality and unemployment rates down.

Launching a paper setting out how health inequalities had improved since the NHS began, he said that the number of children living in poverty had halved since 1998-99 and that there had been a reduction in the proportion of people living in poor housing.

Johnson also said that spending on the NHS would increase from just over £90bn in 2007/08 to almost £110bn in 2010/11.

"Health in the most disadvantaged parts of the country is improving rapidly, but the relative gap is growing and we will do more to reduce it," he told the Institute for Public Policy Research.

"Inequalities in health go down to the root of where people are born and live, and it's time we set that right.

"I have always said that tackling health inequalities is one of my top priorities. Now is the time to redouble our efforts to meet the challenging 2010 targets, but it's also right to look further in the future.

"To make more progress we need to recognise and accept that health inequalities are everyone's business - not just an issue for the NHS, but for government and society as a whole."

Meanwhile, health minister Ben Bradshaw has said that every area in England can now bid for cash to become a "healthy town".

There will be a £30m fund, with towns able to bid for up to £5m each to encourage healthy living by increasing cycle lanes and healthy food initiatives.

"I want to see some really innovative ideas which will help tackle our nation's weight problem," Bradshaw said.

"I hope that local authorities and primary care trusts will take ownership of the challenge of obesity in their areas and work towards making their communities healthier places for everyone.

"Tackling obesity is the most significant public and personal health challenge facing our society.

"The core of the problem is simple - we eat too much and we do too little exercise.

"The solution is more complex. From the nature of the food that we eat to the built environment through to the way our children lead their lives, it is harder to avoid obesity in the modern world."