London can and should be a place where everyone is able to lead a healthy and fulfilling life. However, Londoners experience stark and unacceptable differences in their wellbeing and longevity.

The latest life expectancy and infant mortality figures show that while London is ahead of New York, we are behind other great cities including Paris, Sydney and Tokyo.

This is the first London Health Inequalities Strategy, a statutory requirement under the GLA Act 2007. In setting out how we will tackle health inequalities in London, the strategy has five core objectives:

• Empower individuals and communities to improve health and well-being.
• Improve access to high quality health and social care services particularly for Londoners who have poor health outcomes.
• Reduce income inequality and the negative consequences of relative poverty.
• Increase the opportunities for people to access the potential benefits of good work and other meaningful activity.
• Develop and promote London as a healthy place for all.

To ensure the Health Inequalities Strategy delivers on its aims, we are producing a rolling series of delivery plans. The ‘First Steps to Delivery’ plan lists priority actions to 2012 against the strategy’s thirty high level commitments. These actions are a mixture of long-term campaigns and initiatives to tackle the 'causes of the causes' of health inequalities, alongside specific initiatives on key health challenges, such as obesity and mental health.

Publications

London Health Inequalities Strategy PDF (opens in new window)

London Health Inequalities Strategy RTF

First Steps to Delivery PDF (opens in new window)

First Steps to Delivery RTF

Read the London Assembly's response to the Mayor's draft Health Inequalities Strategy

'One Year On' report

Find out what has been done in the year since the Health Inequalities Strategy was first published:

Health Inequalities Strategy One Year On PDF (opens in new window)

Health Inequalities Strategy One Year On RTF

Supporting documents

evidence_report_for_public_consultation_draft_aug09_amended_oct09.pdf  (PDF opens in new window)

Summary of evidence from the Strategic Review of Health Inequalities in England post-2010 (The Marmot Review) RTF

Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives Action Plan for London (November 2008) (opens in new window) RTF

Delivery Plan Policy Papers

Early Years Interventions to address Health Inequalities in London – the Economic Case (PDF opens in new window)

Read the background and download all versions of the Early Interventions report