New figures have revealed that residents of one seaside town face significantly shorter healthy life expectancy than those in more affluent areas.
Blackpool stands out as the town where male life expectancy in good health is the shortest.
Healthy life expectancy, the number of years someone can expect to live in good health, is falling across most of England and Wales.
Data from ONS shows that male babies born in England between 2021 and 2023 can expect just 61.5 years of good health on average, while female babies can expect slightly more at 61.9 years.
In Wales, the figures are even lower, at 60.3 years for males and 59.6 years for females.
This marks a significant decline from pre-pandemic levels, with men in England losing 20 months of healthy life expectancy and women losing 22 months. In Wales, the drop is even starker for women, with a reduction of 27 months.
Moreover, the gap between the healthiest and unhealthiest areas continues to grow.
The wealthiest parts of the country, like Wokingham, enjoy nearly two decades more of healthy living compared to the most deprived areas, such as Blackpool.
For men, healthy life expectancy in Blackpool is just 51.7 years, compared to 69.7 years in Wokingham.
For women, Barnsley records the shortest healthy life expectancy at 52.6 years, while Wokingham again leads the way at 70.8 years.
Before the pandemic, the gap between the wealthiest and poorest areas was already significant, but it has widened further in recent years.
The biggest drop in healthy life expectancy for men was observed in Cheshire East, where it fell from 67.1 years to 61.9 years, a decline of over five years.
For women, the largest decline occurred in Peterborough, where healthy life expectancy plummeted by six years, from 61.2 years to just 55.2 years.
Sarah Wilkinson, Evidence Manager at the Centre for Ageing Better, said: “There is an enormous gap in the way people experience getting older, much of this is dictated by where you live and your financial situation.
“In the most deprived areas, poor health begins in the early 50s, impacting around a third of a person’s working life. This is particularly concerning as the state pension age is set to rise to 67 by 2026.”
Wilkinson stressed the need for immediate action to address these disparities, including the appointment of a Commissioner for Older People and Ageing in England, to ensure that older people’s needs are prioritised in policymaking.
Over the past decade, all regions outside London have experienced a decline in healthy life expectancy for both men and women.
Wilkinson attributed this to broader systemic issues, exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic but not solely caused by it.
“These trends underline the need for a national strategy to address ageing inequalities, particularly in the poorest areas. A poor quality of life in older age is not inevitable, but it requires decisive action to reverse these trends,” she concluded.
