ABSTRACT
Health inequalities have been documented in Britain for over a hundred years indeed, and recent evidence suggests that they are actually widening (Whitehead et al., 2000). In the last few decades, almost all developed countries have found that disadvantaged groups are more likely to die young and have more illness than more affluent groups (Benzeval, 1998). We know then that inequalities in health and social wellbeing exist and the current debate today is what can be done about these inequalities in both health and social need. The publication of the Black Report (Black et al., 1980) and The Health Divide (Whitehead, 1987) represented new landmarks in our knowledge and understanding of inequalities in health. Twenty years ago the Secretary of State for Social Services of the last Labour Government appointed Sir Douglas Black to chair a working group on inequalities in health and suggest policy and research that should follow from this review. The report appeared in 1980 and received a cold reception from the new Conservative government. In 1985, the British Government signed the WHO’s Health for All Charter but again did little until the 1990s when in 1992 the Health of the Nation White Paper was published (DoH, 1992). Disappointingly, this document had little focus, as it was lifestyle-orientated and failed to address health inequalities, only briefly discussing ‘variations’ in health. However, in 1995 the King’s Fund developed an impressive agenda for action that covered a broad range of social policies designed to tackle health inequalities (Benzeval et al., 1995).
