Increasing healthy life expectancy equitably in England by 5 years by 2035: could it be achieved?

Abstract

In 2018, the UK Government's Secretary of State for Health and Social Care articulated an ambition to increase healthy life expectancy by five years by 2035 for England, while also reducing the gap in this between the rich and the poor1. While we doubt that England – or indeed any high-income country – could achieve this ambition, we describe a set of policies with the potential to make a significant contribution.