THE MP for Barrow said figures showing 'flatlining' life expectancy and worsening health inequalities over the past 10 years are "concerning".

Simon Fell said he hoped a planned government NHS cash injection would improve matters after a report led an expert to declare a ‘lost’ decade in England.

Professor Sir Michael Marmot said the rise in life expectancy had "slowed dramatically" since 2010, while health inequalities were widening between the most and least deprived parts of the country.

The new report found life expectancy in men had risen by about half a year from 79.01 in 2010-12 to 79.56 in 2016-18, while in women it rose by about a third of a year from 82.83 to 83.18. Prof Marmot said this compared to life expectancy generally improving by about one year every four years for a century up until 2010.

The difference in life expectancy at birth between the least and most deprived deciles was 9.5 years for men and 7.7 years for women in 2016-18, rising from 9.1 and 6.8 respectively in 2010-12.

Average life expectancy for men in Barrow is 77.3 years, the lowest in Cumbria.

Labour figures have criticised the Conservative government in the wake of the report. Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said it was "a devastating verdict on 10 years of austerity under the Conservatives".

Mr Fell said: “Clearly these are concerning figures.

"‘Levelling-up’ can’t just mean infrastructure - it has to also be about life chances and life expectancy.

“We need far better integrated care and I’m hopeful that the £33.9billion that’s going into the NHS across the UK, and the commitment to build new NHS facilities in Barrow and Lancaster, will get us closer to that goal.”