Department of Health

Website of the Department of Health

Please note that this website has a UK government access keys system.

NHS logo

Life expectancy

  • Last modified date:
    4 March 2008

Life expectancy at birth is one of the key measures for the health inequalities national target:

The target is a 10% reduction in the relative gap (i.e. percentage difference) in life expectancy at birth between the fifth of areas with the worst health and deprivation indicators (the Spearhead Group) and England as a whole.

Nationally, life expectancy at birth  is increasing for both men and women, including in the Spearhead areas. But it is increasing more slowly there, so the gap continues to widen, and it is widening more for women than men.

In 2004-06, for males the relative gap was 2% wider than at the baseline (the same as in 2003-2005), for females 11% wider (compared to 8% wider in 2003-2005). The 2010 target therefore remains challenging.

The Spearhead Group

 The life expectancy inequalities target, and the inequalities elements of the cancer and heart disease targets, aim to narrow the gap between the population as a whole and the “fifth of areas with the worst health and deprivation indicators”. These are the Spearhead Group areas announced in November 2004.

The Spearhead Group is a fixed list consisting of the Local Authority areas in the bottom fifth nationally for three or more of the following five factors:

  • Male life expectancy at birth
  • Female life expectancy at birth
  • Cancer mortality rate in under 75s
  • Cardio Vascular Disease mortality rate in under 75s
  • Index of Multiple Deprivation 2004 (Local Authority Summary), average score

The Spearhead Group list is made up of 70 Local Authorities and the 62 Primary Care Trusts which map to them.

Health Inequalities – A Priority for the NHS

Health inequalities has been made a priority for the NHS  for 2008 – 09 as set out in the NHS Operating Framework, putting the issue, and the target, at the heart of NHS service planning and performance.

All Age All Cause Mortality, as a proxy for life expectancy, is an indicator in both the NHS Operating Framework 2008/09 - Vital Signs and the New Performance Framework for Local Authorities & Local Authority Partnerships: Single Set of National Indicators.

Health Inequalities Intervention Tool

The joint Department of Health/Association of Public Health Observatories Health Inequalities Intervention Tool is a new interactive online resource which draws together key data and modelling to help areas with the worst health and deprivation (the Spearhead Group) improve life expectancy quickly.

It presents both a national and local picture, showing:

  • Life expectancy in each Spearhead local authority
  • The gap in life expectancy between each Spearhead local authority and England
  • A breakdown of the causes of the life expectancy gap by disease type and age

The Tool also contains a ready reckoner, which allows Spearhead Areas to estimate the potential effect on their life expectancy gap if certain interventions are increased, specifically:

  • support for people to give up smoking 
  • control blood pressure through prescribing antihypertensives in people without diagnosed cardiovascular disease.
  • control cholesterol through prescribing statins in people without diagnosed cardiovascular disease 
  • actions to reduce infant mortality

The Tool is accessible to anyone and is available from the London Health Observatory website:

Health equity audit

Health equity audit tools and guidance for PCTs.

Local basket of indicators (LBOI)

The LBOI were released on the London Health Observatory website on 30 October 2003. The purpose of the LBOI is to support local action and priority setting to tackle health inequalities and are aimed at the NHS, local authorities, LSPs and partner organisations such as the voluntary, community and private sectors.

Key documents

Access keys