Diane says health inequalities are likely to worsen under Coalition
Diane said today she believes health inequalities will worsen under the Coalition government following a series of decisions which will ensure that the gap between rich and poor will continue to widen.
Diane believes decisions already taken by the Coalition including scrapping Sure Start funding, capping housing benefit and cutting child benefit, will all have a detrimental effect on health inequalities, and will only increase abuse of tobacco, drugs and alcohol.
A report published today (Nov 2) by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on health inequalities showed that the gap between rich and poor had widened under Labour despite increased spending.
Diane said:
“Today’s report shows that more needs to be done about reducing the gap between the rich and poor in order to tackle health inequalities.
Some of the Coalition’s decisions, such as capping housing benefit and scrapping Sure Start will only serve to widen this gap because it takes away access to essential facilities and services which educate about ways of staying healthy and reducing health inequalities.
Instead people we will see far more people forced to live in unfit accommodation on tighter budgets, and as evidence shows, this is likely to only increase their likelihood to abuse, tobacco and alcohol.
Labour invested money to close the gap but the Coalition’s decision to scrap these schemes in their infancy will see any progress to come reversed at the detriment of public health and wellbeing.”
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