Healthy life expectancy: policy context

Although life expectancy (LE) and healthy life expectancy (HLE) have been increasing in Scotland in recent years, both tend to be worse (lower) in Scotland than in the UK as a whole. Indeed, Scotland has one of the lowest levels of LE in Western Europe (see international comparisons). This is due to its relatively high death rates.

The aim of increasing HLE is included as part of one of the five high level purpose targets set out by the Scottish Government in Scotland Performs:

Government Economic Strategy Target 4: "To match average European (EU15) population growth over the period from 2007 to 2017, supported by increased healthy life expectancy in Scotland over the period from 2007 to 2017."

Scottish Government policy on reducing health inequalities includes Equally Well, the 2008 report of the Ministerial Task Force on Health Inequalities. This set out a series of recommendations addressing the social determinants of health – including education, poverty and employment – and health and wellbeing in the early years. It also called for analysis to support long-term monitoring of inequalities in a number of high level indicators, of which HLE was one.

The 2008 Long-term monitoring of health inequalities report and the 2011 annual update presented HLE data by income-employment index decile. It was concluded that between 1999-2000 and 2009-10, there continued to be inequalities in HLE in both relative and absolute terms. Changes over time could not, however, be measured due to methodological changes (discussed in more detail on the Scotland data page).

At a European level, the pilot European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing has an overarching target to increase the average healthy lifespan in Europe by two years by 2020. It is focused on three areas: prevention and health promotion; care and cure; and active and independent living of elderly people.