A long-promised white paper which could impact the lifespan of Bradford’s poorest residents is rumoured to be at risk.

Sources close to the newly-appointed Health Secretary Thérèse Coffey told a national newspaper that the white paper was “dead” and likely to be “canned”.

But a Government spokesperson insisted the claims are “inaccurate”, adding that “no decisions have been taken”.

Imran Hussain MP (Bradford East, Labour) says scrapping the report would mean that thousands more will die younger than those in more affluent areas of the country.

Research from studies such as Born in Bradford and Bradford Council’s Health and Wellbeing Board shows that life expectancy in the district is falling, particularly as a result of respiratory disease and cardiovascular diseases.

Meanwhile there’s currently a gap of almost 20 years in life expectancy for those born in poorer areas, according to an Office for National Statistics (ONS) report in April 2022.

Mr Hussain said: “As one of the country’s most deprived regions, Bradford faces some of the worst health inequalities, with stark differences and higher a prevalence of preventable, poverty-inflicted diseases which mean that not only are people in poorer general health than those living in more affluent areas of the country, but that they die at a younger age too.

“With a rising cost of living forcing more families into destitution, these health inequalities will only get worse and the gap in health outcomes between the richest and the poorest will only get wider, which is why I’m very worried that the Health Secretary’s decision to scrap this much-needed strategy paper will lead to many more Bradfordians dying long before those living in more better-off parts of the country.

“If we are to have any chance of levelling-up left behind regions like Bradford, we need to tackle these health inequalities.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “This is inaccurate. No decisions have been taken.”

The Health Inequalities White Paper was announced in February 2022 by the then-Health Secretary, Sajid Javid MP.

It was intended to set out the Government’s strategy to tackle what they described as “unacceptable disparities in health outcomes” by breaking the link “between people’s background and their prospect for a healthy life”.

The document was due to be published in Spring 2022. But in July, Mr Hussain was told “plans for the white paper will be available in due course”.

Following repeated delays and missed publication dates, a leak from the Department for Health and Social Care on Thursday stated that “it’s never going to appear”.

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