January

• In January, the RCP welcomed the Health and Social Care Committee’s Prevention in Health and Social Care: healthy places report, which recognised that “places where people live- homes, communities and neighbourhoods- affect their health and wellbeing sustainability.” This report was an encouraging step towards the recognition of the impact of social determinants on health. The report also called on the government to do more to prevent ill health, something the IHA has long campaigned for.
• In January, we published a guest blog from the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA.) It was authored by TCPA director, Julia Thrift, who appeared in front of the Health and Select Committee last year to highlight the work of the IHA, as well as the need for a cross-government strategy on health inequalities.

February

• In February, we published a guest blog from NHS Confederation. This blog discussed the work being done with ICSs to tackle health inequalities, and why their involvement in the IHA is so important.

March

• In March, we published a guest blog from the Pharmacists’ Defence Union. The blog discussed the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on the affordability of medicines.

April

• In April, we published a guest blog from Maternity Action who highlighted the impact of the cost of living on maternity leave and the knock on effect to the health of babies of women from poorer socio-economic circumstances.

May

• In May, we published a guest blog from The Association of Directors of Public Health (ADPH.) Greg Fell, the President of the ADPH, highlighted the role that local authorities have in protecting and promoting good health and the importance of a cross-government strategy to tackle health inequalities.

June

• In June, the Labour Party committed to enacting the socioeconomic duty in the Equality Act 2010 in their 2024 general election manifesto. As one of the IHA’s three key objectives this was exceptionally welcome and is a step towards ensuring that the social determinants of health are considered in decision making at all levels of government. With this in mind the RCP, who convene the IHA, released a press statement.

July

• In July, we published a guest blog by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG.) Dr Ranee Thakar (president) explored why a whole-government focus on health inequalities is crucial to sustainably improving the health of women, girls, and people accessing obstetrics and gynaecology services in the UK.

August

• In August, we published a guest blog by Kidney Research UK where they highlighted the findings of their new report, showing that access to good kidney health is not currently available to all and is determined by a range of socio-economic factors.

September

• In September, the IHA wrote to public health and prevention minister Andrew Gwynne asking the government to set out its plans for their health mission delivery board, and emphasising the need for all social determinants of health to be covered by its scope.
• We published a blog by Dr Mumtaz Patel, acting as president of the RCP, who convene the alliance. This highlighted the achievements that the IHA has had over the last year, including the governments commitment to enacting the socioeconomic duty in the Equality Act in their manifesto.
• The RCP attended the Liberal Democrat, Labour and Conservative party conferences and were keen to highlight the work of the IHA and its key objectives. We were able to raise these issues with a number of ministers, shadow ministers, members of parliament and colleagues across public health.
• Along with the OneforEquality campaign we met with the Cabinet Office’s Equalities Hub to better understand plans for the enactment of the socio-economic duty.

October

• In October, we published a guest blog from the Alcohol Health Alliance (AHA), which explored the recorded rise in alcohol-related harm in the UK and health inequalities.
• We sent a letter to Layla Moran MP, recently elected chair of the health and social care select committee. We highlighted the work that of the IHA and requested that the committee commit to completing the prevention inquiry initiated in the previous parliament.

January

• After much delay, we learnt that the Health Disparities White Paper had been scrapped.

February

• The RCP and members of the IHA submitted evidence to the Health and Social Care’s inquiry on prevention calling for it to consider health inequalities and the social determinants of ill health including poor housing, air quality and the marketing of food and alcohol or the availability of tobacco, to employment (including how much money you have), racism and discrimination and transport.

March

• The IHA issued a briefing for MPs and Peers on the current state of health inequalities, continuing the call for a cross-government strategy.
• The RCP and other members of the IHA submitted to the Labour Party’s National Policy Forum’s Prevention, early intervention and better public services for all Consultation. The RCP called for the Labour Party to adopt a cross-government strategy to reduce health inequalities ahead of the next general election.

May

• The Labour Party announced that it would establish a ‘mission delivery board’ to ‘bring together all departments with an influence over the social determinants of health’ in its ‘Health Mission’. The RCP welcomed this along with the commitment to halve the gap in healthy life expectancy between different regions in England.

June

• The RCP and other members of the IHA submitted to the government’s call for evidence on the Major Conditions Strategy (MCS). The RCP said in its response that many factors driving the conditions the MCS is seeking to cover, and health inequalities more widely, sit beyond the NHS and Department of Health and Social Care’s remit.

July

• 'A Covenant for Health - Policies and partnerships to improve our national health in 5 to 10 years' report was published. The RCP welcomed the report’s recommendation that action be led by the prime minister and chancellor, and that government assesses the health impact of all its policies.

August

• The government published the interim Major conditions strategy report, the ‘case for change and our strategic framework’. The RCP said it its response that it was reassuring that the interim report recognised that wider social determinants contribute to serious health conditions and called for the full report of the Major Conditions Strategy, due to be published in 2024, to include a cross-government strategy to reduce health inequalities.

September

• The Liberal Democrats passed a motion at their Autumn Party Conference to prevent ill health, tackle health inequalities and create a ‘health creation’ unit in the Cabinet Office. The RCP welcomed this as well as the commitments to restore the Public Health Grant to at least 2015 levels and wider public health measures.

October

• The IHA marked its third anniversary, with now over 250 members campaigning for a cross-government strategy to reduce health inequalities.
• The RCP published an updated policy paper reiterating our calls for a cross-government strategy to reduce health inequalities: RCP view on health inequalities: A call to action for a cross-government strategy.

November

• The Chief Medical Officer’s annual report for 2023 Health in an Ageing Society argued for a preventative approach to tackling socially-determined ill health, recognising that action must be taken both from government and from healthcare. The RCP welcomed this report and said that the evidence outlined in the CMO’s report supports the call for a cross-government strategy which considers the role of every government department and every available policy lever in tackling health disparities.

January

• The IHA issued a briefing to MPs on its calls for a cross-government strategy to reduce health inequalities ahead of a Westminster Hall debate about the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities and health inequalities.
  

February

• The government published their flagship Levelling Up White Paper which committed to a Health Disparities White Paper which assured that the DHSC would work with the ‘whole of government to consider health disparities at each stage at which they arise…[including]…the wider determinants of health’.
  
  

May

• The rising cost of living throughout 2022 has had a considerable impact on people’s health. The RCP commissioned a nationwide public poll on behalf of the IHA to look at how the cost of living crisis was affecting people’s health. The poll found that over half of the population (55%) feel their health has been negatively affected by the rising cost of living. Of those who reported their health getting worse, 84% said it was due to increased heating costs, over three quarters (78%) a result of the rising cost of food and almost half (46%) down to transport costs rising.

July

• Boris Johnson resigned as prime minister in July 2022. The RCP was one of several medical royal colleges calling on the new prime minister to commit to reducing health inequalities by tackling the causes of ill health.

September

• Rising energy bills are having an adverse effect on people’s health. The RCP commissioned more nationwide polling on behalf of the IHA that found that over two thirds of people (69%) feel more worried about their ability to stay warm and healthy at home that winter (2022) compared to last winter (2021). When asked what they would do if a member of their household needed to use more heating than usual this winter to avoid ill health, only 22% said they would heat their home as necessary because they could afford the cost. The findings were covered by ITV News.
• The RCP published another policy paper, ‘the continued case for a cross-government strategy’.
• Over 155 members of the Inequalities in Health Alliance (IHA) signed a letter to the then secretary of state for health and social care, Dr Thérèse Coffey urging the government to maintain the commitment to publishing a Health Disparities White Paper (HDWP) by the end of this year.

• 92 senior leaders of IHA members wrote publicly to Boris Johnson as prime minister to reiterate the call for a cross-government strategy to reduce health inequalities.
• This letter was sent alongside a new policy paper from the RCP, ‘the case for a cross-government strategy’, which included real life stories of how people’s health is damaged by social factors such as poor housing conditions and being unable to afford public transport.

• The IHA first wrote to the Prime Minister asking him to develop a cross-government strategy to reduce health inequalities.