Health Foundation responds to ONS life expectancy data in England and Wales

David Finch, Assistant Director of Healthy Lives at the Health Foundation, commenting on National life tables – life expectancy in England and Wales: 2021 to 2023, said,

“Today’s ONS release shows a concerning lack of progress in life expectancy for England and Wales. We’ve seen no improvements in life expectancy at birth between 2022 and 2023.

“Taken together with historically weak improvements in life expectancy in the years before the pandemic, life expectancy for men and women is now 3.8 years and 2.7 years lower, respectively, than if pre-2012 trends had continued. We are now seeing over a decade of stalling health in parallel with an extended period of weak economic growth.

“We know that health and wealth are intertwined – the Chancellor must now take bold steps to ensure the Budget supports the improvement of the nation’s health and well-being and meets their manifesto commitment of boosting employment and the economy. This requires a preventative approach to government public service spending plans, a new focus on supporting people with health conditions to stay in work and maintaining financial support for people with low incomes whose health keeps them out of the labour market.”