New Labour has been in government in the UK for almost 10 years. From early in its period of office, it set out to challenge the official indifference to the public health significance of health inequalities. Within six months of taking office, the Acheson Inquiry into inequalities in health was convened with the remit of recommending policies aimed at reducing health inequalities. The inquiry report was published in 1998 by the Department of Health for England and Wales (Acheson, 1998). It is timely to take stock of progress in reducing what the report describes as ‘unacceptable inequalities in health’ and assess the extent to which the report's recommendations have been enacted by government up to and including the public health White Paper (DH, 2004). This book draws on the work of authors from various disciplines to explore the extent to which New Labour policy since taking office advances the policy agenda recommended by the Acheson Inquiry. The book presents the perspectives of different disciplines, some of which, though engaged with health inequalities, are rarely heard in the policy and practice debates. Of necessity, the book's main focus is England; however, where appropriate, authors draw on policy initiatives in the other nations of the UK. Although touching on many similar areas to recent books by Exworthy et al (2003) addressing progress in tackling health inequalities since Acheson, and Asthana and Halliday (2006) addressing what works in tackling health inequalities, the book has a different focus and approaches the challenge of health inequalities from a different perspective. Policy areas that are major drivers of health inequalities, such as poverty, income distribution, education and employment, are considered within chapters (for example, in Chapters Three and Five) rather than as separate subject areas.

The importance and extent of health inequalities

Avoidable inequalities in health experience and outcomes related to socioeconomic status at individual, household or area level, ethnicity and gender have been identified at all stages of the life course from pregnancy to old age. Such inequalities make a major contribution to avoidable mortality and ill health. These issues are widely documented in the literature and, recently, in government policy statements.