New analysis by the Health Foundation has identified major inequalities within London that affect the health of 9 million people living in the city. The independent charity says that these inequalities are likely to have been exacerbated by the pandemic and addressing them should be a priority for the city mayor who will be elected on Thursday next week.

The analysis looks at key areas that contribute to people’s health and are within the influence of city region mayors – including work, training, housing, transport and the environment. It identifies employment, housing and transport as key areas where parts of London are lagging compared to the rest of the country and which present an opportunity for the new mayor to take action to improve people’s health.

The analysis shows that while both men’s and women’s healthy life expectancy in London is slightly higher than in England as a whole, within the city region there are stark and concerning differences– for instance, women in Richmond typically live almost 13 years longer in good health than women in Tower Hamlets (69.7 years compared to 56.7 years).

Employment was a challenge before the pandemic, with the London’s employment rate at 75.1% in 2019/20 – 1.1 percentage points below the national average. Employment rates were particularly low in Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea at 68.4 and 68.6%. Since the start of the pandemic, London has seen an increase of 5.9 percentage points in unemployment benefit rates in the year to March 2021, higher than the 4.0 percentage point rise for all of England. Within the city the highest increases were in Haringey (8.9 percentage points) and Newham (8.9 percentage points) while Kensington and Chelsea saw a rise of just 4.2 percentage points.

The Health Foundation says that to ensure the recovery from the pandemic supports health, the mayor will need to not only boost employment but also ensure the jobs being created are of high quality, reducing the stress and financial strain lower paid insecure work can bring.

In terms of housing, the analysis also shows that while median earners in London can expect to pay more than 13 times their salary for a median priced house compared to 7.6 times for England as a whole, there were huge differences within the city. In Camden one can expect to pay 18.2 times their salary for a median home, while in Bexley that number is much closer to the England average at 9.18 times. There are also huge disparities in Homeless population, with 13.8 homeless people per 1000 households in Southwark, compared to 1.36 in Ealing.

On transport, the analysis also shows that while 46.1% of London walks or cycles at least 5 times a week, higher than the average of 36% for England as a whole. Some areas, such as Barking and Dagenham and Ealing have walking and cycling rates as low as 24.2% and 29% respectively.

Mayoral powers over public transport provide an opportunity to improve both physical and mental health – through better system design that promotes more active travel opportunities but also reducing air pollution and providing reliable and affordable connections to services and employment opportunities.

David Finch, Senior Fellow at the Health Foundation, said:

‘The new Metro mayor will have a significant power over many aspects of the lives of the 9 million people living in London. Work, skills, housing, transport and the environment all play an important role in determining our health. Our analysis finds that employment, housing and transport, in particular, are problems for people in parts of London compared to England as a whole. These are key challenges that the newly elected mayor will have to grapple with if they are serious about improving the health of their constituents.

‘The pandemic has shone a spotlight on the extent of health inequality in the UK with those living in the poorest areas having been impacted more severely by the virus. The pandemic recovery provides an opportunity to address the conditions that mean a woman in Richmond will live 13 more years in good health than one in Tower Hamlets.’