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Health Services: Equality

Asked by Blake StephensonConservativeDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled Answered 8 October 2025UIN 73484

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the press release entitled Landmark plan to rebuild NHS in working-class communities of 25 June 2025, what definition his Department plans to use for working-class communities.

Answered by Ashley Dalton

The 10-Year Health Plan has set out a long-term vision to reform the National Health Service and make it fit for the future. Addressing healthcare inequity is a core focus of the 10-Year Health Plan, to ensure the NHS is there for anyone who needs it whenever they need it.

The 10-Year Health Plan refers both to “working class jobs” and “working class communities”, as do other more recent publications. These terms are used in the standard way they are used in English to indicate people who are employed for wages and generally experience greater job insecurity, lower benefits, and less financial security than others in society.

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