Comparative data at Local Authority level is provided by UK Health Security Agency as part of the Public Health Outcomes Framework (PHOF). Calculations of LE for these smaller areas is less accurate and a single figure can be a little misleading. The three-year average is generally considered to be more accurate as it includes more data points, and when we look at this for Plymouth, both male and female LE are below that for England, with a gap of 0.6 years on average.
However, when we compare with other places that have similar populations1, Plymouth compares favourably, having a longer LE for both men and women than these similar places. This is very positive – though it should be noted that there is some uncertainty in the estimate and the differences are small.
| Life expectancy at birth | Plymouth Value | England Value | Gap | Rank compared to similar areas |
| Using three- year rolling average for 2018-2020 | ||||
| Females | 82.5 | 83.1 | 0.6 | 1 (i.e. longest) |
| Males | 78.8 | 79.4 | 0.6 | 1 (joint longest LE) |
Table 1. Showing data taken from the UK HSA PHOF.
1 The rank uses 15 comparator areas identified by Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) and a high rank means that LE in Plymouth is high
When we look at the trend over time, unfortunately we see that LE in England dropped in 2018-2020 due to the impact of the pandemic in the 2020 data. Plymouth was impacted slightly less, and had fewer deaths than many other areas. This meant that the gap between Plymouth and England as a whole reduced. Although of course the reduction in the gap is a positive outcome, this has been achieved through the LE for England worsening which is not the way in which we would have wanted to see this come about. It should be noted though that there is significant variation from year to year and these figures are estimates.
Inequality in LE
Inequality in Life Expectancy is a measure of the gap in LE between the most deprived 10% of the population and the least deprived 10%. It is calculated using three year averages. This shows that for both men and for women, the inequality in LE is lower in Plymouth than it is for England as a whole.
- For females, the gap is 7.9 years for England and 5.2 for Plymouth
- For males, the gap is 9.7 years for England, and is 8.7 years for Plymouth
For both men and women, inequality is smaller in Plymouth compared to England