Glasgow life expectancy gap widens between richest and poorest

The life expectancy gap has increased by three years for both men and women

The life expectancy gap between the richest and poorest in Glasgow has widened over the past 20 years, a new study suggests.

According to the Glasgow Centre for Population Health (GCPH), the gap between the richest and poorest 10% has increased by three years.

This was the case for both men and women between 2000-2019.

The trends were linked to the "effects of UK government austerity policies", GCPH said.

The study's findings were published in a report called Health in a Changing City: Glasgow 2021.

It showed that between 2000 and 2002, the poorest 10% of men were expected to die 12.4 years earlier than the wealthiest, but the figure grew to 15.4 years between 2017 and 2019.

For women, the figure rose from 8.6 to 11.6 years over the same period.

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The study also compared the neighbourhoods with the highest and lowest life expectancies.

Most recently there was a 17.6 year gap between the lowest in Greater Govan (65.4 years) and the highest in Pollokshields West (83 years).

The equivalent gap between the neighbourhoods in 2001-2005 was 15.3 years.

The report said that Glasgow's population overall has become relatively less deprived compared to the rest of Scotland since the turn of the century, but it remains the Scottish city with the highest concentration of people living in deprivation.

Lead author Bruce Whyte said: "The shocking reduction in life expectancy experienced by women in Glasgow and people living in our most deprived areas stands out and is the result of policies that have exacerbated structural inequalities in society.

"We need to shift away from austerity towards policies that provide people with adequate income, including properly supporting those who cannot work, grounded in a commitment to the common good for all in society."

Inequality 'worsened'

Elsewhere, the report draws attention to the changing ethnic diversity in Glasgow.

Of the city's 70,000 school pupils, around 25% are now estimated to come from ethnic minority backgrounds.

In March 2020, it was estimated by Glasgow City Council that more than 36,000 children were living in poverty and that more than 16,000 of those children were from single-parent families.

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The report adds that despite homelessness "halving in the last two decades", in 2019/20 there were more than 5,200 homeless households in Glasgow - a rise of more than 10% on the previous year.

Dr Katharine Timpson, GCPH public health research specialist, said: "Policy will not be effective at reducing inequality if the people who are currently marginalised are not included in decision-making.

"During the Covid-19 pandemic, we saw how rapidly policy priorities could shift, but we also saw how unintended consequences can cause worsened inequality when space is not made to incorporate the perspectives of everyone impacted by the policy."