Plea to tackle life expectancy disparity in county

Mark Pengelly pointed out that people in Corby (pictured) lived 10 years less than people in Oakham

A Labour councillor has said the disparity in life expectancy within a district needs to be "tackled".

According to North Northamptonshire Council's newly-published Public Health Report, the average life expectancy in the area in 2021-23 was 78.7 years for men and 82.2 years for women.

Corby councillor Mark Pengelly pointed out that the life expectancy for his town was about 10 years younger than people in Oakham.

The council's director of public health said the local authority needed to do everything it could to improve outcomes for more deprived areas.

According to the Office for National Statistics, men in the Exeter ward of Corby have a life expectancy of 71.9, whereas men in Oakham South West live to an average of 81.8 years.

Speaking at a full council meeting on Wednesday, Pengelly said: "If you stand at the top of Rockingham Hill and look towards Oakham, people in Oakham live 10 years longer than people in Corby.

"If you represent the Kingswood part of the estate, you live 10 years less than if you live in Oakley Vale.

"There's something wrong that people who are working class live less on this Earth than people who aren't working class.

"It's something that has to be tackled."

Nearly a quarter of Corby residents lived in an area which was deemed as in the top 20% most deprived in England, the report said.

One in five residents in Wellingborough live in the top 20% most deprived, and about one in 10 in Kettering.

Speaking about the report, the council's director of public health, Jane Bethea, said: "We need to do everything we do in partnership - with that laser focus on improving outcomes for everyone - making sure that we are closing that gap that we sometimes see in some of our communities.

"There is still much to do and we need to keep the momentum that we've developed over the last few years."

The Local Democracy Reporting Service contacted North Northamptonshire Council for further comment.