Answer:
ExplanatioWORKING GROUP REPORT ON HEALTH INEQUALITY
The Health Inequality Working Group was founded in 1977, at the initiative of my predecessor as Secretary of State, under the leadership of Sir Douglas Black, to review information on state health disparities between social classes; consider possible causes and policy implications; and suggest further research.
The Group has been given a formidable task, and Sir Douglas and his colleagues deserve thanks for completing this work and for the thoroughness with which they read the vast literature on this subject. As they explain, the influences that play a role in explaining the health experiences of different parts of our society are many and interconnected; and, while it is disappointing that the Group has not been able to make more progress in addressing the causes of health inequality, the difficulties encountered may not be surprising given current measurement techniques.
It would be disappointing to many that for the extended period of the start of the NHS there has generally been little sign of health inequalities in the UK which are actually declining and, in some cases, may be increasing. It would appear that the Group has come to believe that the causes of health inequality are so deep-rooted that only a large and extensive public spending program can change the pattern. I must clarify that the additional expenditure on the scale that could result from the report's recommendations - the amount involved could be well over £2 billion per year - is simply not realistic in the current or foreseeable state of the economy, regardless of any assessments that may occur. shaped by the effectiveness of those expenditures in addressing the problems identified. Therefore, I cannot support the group's recommendations. I made the report available for discussion, but without any commitment from the Government on the proposal.
PATRICK JENKIN
Secretary of State for Social Services
August 1980n:
