County Durham's life expectancy falls amid pandemic rises

Durham County Council said the county's life expectancy was already below the national average

Life expectancy in County Durham has fallen amid a rise in smoking, suicides and child obesity during the Covid-19 pandemic, a council has said.

Durham County Council said restrictions made it harder for people to exercise.

At a meeting of the council's cabinet, corporate director of resources Paul Darby, said the county's life expectancy was already below the national average.

The council also said "poverty pressures" were "a major issue".

The meeting heard male and female life expectancy had fallen by seven months and six months respectively.

"In Durham, life expectancy was already below the national averages and there remains significant disparities on life expectancy across the county," Mr Darby said.

"The pandemic has made it more difficult for people to participate in sport and activity.

"And worryingly this has also manifested itself in an increase in childhood obesity, as well as the percentage of adults being overweight."

'Deteriorate'

Mr Darby also said smoking had risen from 15% to 17%, with 15% of mothers smoking at the time of delivery compared to the national average of around 9%, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

He said: "There are continuing concerns about the long-term impacts of Covid on children's education and wellbeing.

"There are still 24% of all children eligible for free school meals that are not accessing them currently."

In a report to the cabinet, Mr Darby said there had been "an increase in the suicide rate which remains higher than the national figure", while "poverty pressures continue to be a major issue and we expect the situation to deteriorate as basic living costs continue to rise, hitting those with little disposable income hard".

It added although the pandemic caused a fall in life expectancy, recent research from Imperial College London suggested it was already in decline in many areas in the north.

Durham County Council leader Amanda Hopgood said residents face "very real issues"

Council leader Amanda Hopgood said: "The pandemic has impacted in many ways.

"Many households in our county are undoubtedly struggling currently with increased cost of living and the impact of the withdrawal of the Universal Credit temporary uplift and the ending of the furlough scheme.

"These are very real issues which we need to work with partners to address and help alleviate the impacts through our support to vulnerable households."