This briefing estimates that £21 billion of NHS funds has been allocated in 2009/10 on the basis of health inequalities. Despite the health of the nation improving overall, health inequalities has proved a stubborn area to address.
It highlights some of the variation in success among different localities, particularly for teenage pregnancies. Despite the sums of money allocated, it is not always clear how much has been spent on improving health inequalities and what the impact has been. It is hard to see an obvious link between spending and improvement, or get any clear view of value for money.