To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to address regional disparities in ill health as part of the Government's public health strategy. [29341]

We are currently consulting on the Green Paper "Our Healthier Nation", which includes our proposals for reducing England's significant social, geographical and ethnic health inequalities. The consultation responses and the findings of the Independent Inquiry into Inequalities in Health will be used to develop a concerted strategy to tackle health inequalities which will reflect a proper balance between targets for national action and local targets reflecting priorities for action in tackling local health inequalities and health improvement.