Home News Go further and faster on neighbourhood health to combat Reform UK new report urges

‘Go further and faster on neighbourhood health to combat Reform UK’ new report urges

New research identifies 150 neighbourhoods with the poorest health in England and calls for urgent investment as part of Government plans for a neighbourhood health service

A new report (ICON Health September FINAL) commissioned by the Independent Commission on Neighbourhoods (ICON), a cross party commission of experts chaired by Baroness Hilary Armstrong, from former Special Adviser to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Richard Sloggett identifies the 150 neighbourhoods in England with the poorest health outcomes and calls for these areas to be prioritised for investment in the rollout of the Government’s neighbourhood health service plans.

The report Higher ambition, faster pace, greater co-ordination: the political imperative of delivering a neighbourhood health service highlights that these neighbourhoods have a strong importance politically and are likely to be a battle between Labour and Reform UK at the next election. Labour won close to 90% of the parliamentary constituencies in 2024 where these neighbourhoods are located, with Reform UK second in two thirds of them.

The report calls for investments these neighbourhoods to be prioritised and for the Government to increase the ambition for the number of Neighbourhood Health Centres to be launched in this Parliament from the 40-50 currently set.[1]

Over half (83) of the neighbourhoods identified with poorest health are in the North West. 29 are in the North East meaning that over two thirds of neighbourhoods with the poorest health are in the north of England. Meanwhile only 2 of the 150 neighbourhoods with poorest health are in the South East, with none in London or the South West.

The research report highlights the health inequalities experienced by those in the poorest neighbourhoods:

  • The number of people reporting that they have a long term illness is on average 5% higher in the neighbourhoods with poorest health when compared to the average across all neighbourhoods in England
  • The number of people reporting that they are in bad or very bad health is on average2% higher in the neighbourhoods with poorest health when compared to the average across all neighbourhoods in England
  • The number of people accessing personal independence payments is on average 7% higher in the neighbourhoods with poorest health when compared to the average across all neighbourhoods in England
  • The number of people claiming attendance allowance is on average 4% higher in the neighbourhoods with poorest health when compared to the average across all neighbourhoods in England
  • The number of people claiming disability living allowance is on average 4% higher in the neighbourhoods with poorest health when compared to the average across all neighbourhoods in England

The research also finds that the average life expectancy for females is 6.5 years lower in these neighbourhoods when compared with the national average. For males there is a 7.5 year gap between the life expectancy in the neighbourhoods with the poorest health and the national average.

The analysis reveals strong links between the areas of poorest health and greatest economic challenge. 69 of the 150 neighbourhoods with poorest health are also classified as being ‘mission critical’ areas for economic development through the Commission’s work.

The report welcomes the Government’s commitment to a neighbourhood health service in the Ten Year Health Plan along with a review to redirect funding to more deprived communities.

However it calls for greater urgency, ambition and support to improve health in these communities.

The report also identifies a lack of co-ordination between the Government’s plans for an NHS neighbourhood health service and its broader ‘Plan for Neighbourhoods’ and calls for a greater co-ordination of efforts to tackle health inequalities and deprivation.[2]

The report makes the following recommendations:

  • Clearly prioritise investments in those areas with poorest health and set clear timelines for when the announced NHS funding formula review will be completed
  • Increase the ambition for the number of Neighbourhood Health Centres to be launched in this Parliament from the 40-50 currently set[3]
  • Use the forthcoming delivery plan for the Ten Year Health Plan to set a clear target so that spending moves from hospital to community settings
  • Develop a guide to delivering neighbourhood health developed in partnership with local government, the voluntary sector and others to support the effective roll-out and implementation of the service
  • Ensure work on developing the neighbourhood health service aligns with wider Government policies in rejuvenating neighbourhoods through the ‘Plan for Neighbourhoods’[4]
  • Publish a cross government health mission plan that will improve healthy life expectancy for all and halve the gap in healthy life expectancy between different regions of England

Richard Sloggett, report author, former Government Special Adviser and now Programme Director at Future Health Research said: “The Government’s Ten Year Health Plan includes welcome commitments to develop a neighbourhood health service as part of efforts to shift care out of hospital and into community. As the delivery plan for this is now developed, those neighbourhoods with the poorest health, set out in this report, need to be prioritised for investment. The Government needs to move quickly and set higher levels of ambition for the speed of rolling out this service in these communities and also ensure action is co-ordinated across agencies. Our research shows that this will be good for local people, good for health outcomes, good for local economies and good for the Government as it try to show rapid progress and the impact of its healthcare reforms.”

[1] https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2025-07-03/debates/DC09ACAA-D05F-4BE8-9517-16A2D53DA49E/NHS10-YearPlan

[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/10-year-health-plan-for-england-fit-for-the-future; https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/plan-for-neighbourhoods

[3] https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2025-07-03/debates/DC09ACAA-D05F-4BE8-9517-16A2D53DA49E/NHS10-YearPlan

[4] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/plan-for-neighbourhoods-prospectus-and-tools/plan-for-neighbourhoods-prospectus