A decade on from Marmot, why are health inequalities widening?

Experts in public health have warned that inequalities in health have worsened since Michael Marmot’s landmark review was published in 2010,1 and they call for major policy reforms to tackle growing disparities in life expectancy in the UK.

Figures published in March by the Office for National Statistics show that the gap between rich and poor people in life expectancy and healthy life expectancy is increasing in England.2

Against this troubling backdrop, a 10 year update to the Marmot review will report next February to provide an update on the existence and effectiveness of national and local policies to tackle the social determinants of ill health and to examine what societal trends have affected health inequalities.

Speaking at the Westminster Health Forum in London on Tuesday 11 June, the Health Foundation’s Tim Elwell-Sutton, who has been working closely on the Marmot update with the Institute of Health Equity at University College London, gave a preview of some of the trends the group had …