A target to reduce health inequalities by 10 per cent by 2010 is unlikely to be reached, senior officials at the Department of Health were told.

Figures show that the gap has actually widened over the last 10 years.

Health inequalities are measured by the difference in infant mortality and life expectancy between the poorest members of society and the average of the whole population.

The gap in infant mortality rates between the poorest and the national average was 13 per cent in 1997/9, which was used as the baseline years, but the gap is now 17% according to the Department of Health.

The difference in the life expectancy of men in the poorest areas of the country and the national average is now two per cent greater than it was in 1995/7, and the difference for women has also increased and is 11 per cent greater than it was a decade ago.

The Shadow Health Secretary, said: “Labour are failing the poorest in society. The gap between rich and poor on key indicators like life expectancy is as wide as it has been since Victorian times.

“Labour have neglected our public health infrastructure and despite increasing NHS resources the amount spent in the worst affected areas is no greater than the amount spent in the most affluent areas.”

Infants born into families in routine or manual employment, had a mortality rate of 5.6 per 1,000 live births in the two years between 2004 and 2006 but in the same period in the population as a whole there were just 4.8 deaths per 1,000 live births. The difference is now 17 per cent, compared to just 13 per cent in 1997/99.

Life expectancy has improved across all social groups but more slowly in poorer areas.

For men in the 70 most deprived local authority areas, life expectancy in 2004/6 was 75.3 years, compared with the average across the whole country which was two years longer.

Similarly for women in the poorest areas life expectancy was given as 80 years in 2004/6 and the average across the whole country was 19 months longer.

The Department of Health board has been warned in a report  which waspresented last week that there was a ‘risk of non-delivery of a key public service agreement target by 2010, to reduce health inequalities by 10%’.

  The day after the personal details of a million bank customers was found on a computer sold on e bay, personal details of council tax payers have turned up on another computer also sold on eBay! 

Thousands of bank account numbers, sort codes, names and addresses were stored on the hard drive which had previously been owned by a borough council.

Further personal details were found including conversations about householders’ divorces and family bereavements. The computer was sold on eBay to a Scottish computer expert for just £6.99.

Officials at Charnwood Borough Council in Leicestershire promised to investigate the apparent data breach urgently.  Computer experts said the two eBay sales were the ‘tip of the iceberg’ of the secondhand computer market. They warned that thousands of used computers were sold every year without data being properly deleted.

The latest discovery was made by the Scot who bought the hard drive to practise his technical skills.  He received it in the mail on August 15 and - using data recovery equipment easily obtainable on the internet - discovered 35,000 files. They included council tax bills, photographs of council staff and internal memos. 

The Edinburgh-based 36-year-old, who asked not to be named, said he had tried to contact Charnwood’s security officer but had no response.

‘I can see from these documents who is having financial problems, and who is getting bailiffs sent round to their house,’ he said. 

‘ There is even information about a death on there.  I was stunned to find 35,000 items - documents, photos and, memos.

‘There is a lot of stuff many people would find interesting, like bank account numbers and sort codes from payments made over the phone.

‘These organisations should know better and know how to handle the disposal of people’s personal information.’

Data on the hard drive dates from 2002 to July 2008.

In one telephone transcript, a council employee notes that a female taxpayer, whose name and address is given, receives just £70 a week from her job in a pub, is separated from her husband and has ‘no goods worth chasing’.

One resident of Syston in Leicestershire, whose name, address and phone number were listed in a file on the hard drive, said she was horrified by the discovery.

The Information Commissioner’s Office has pledged to investigate.

  DO you have a burning question to ask?   Then now is your chance to speak up!

North East Lincolnshire is holding its very own Question Time event – putting key local people under the public spotlight for an evening of discussion and debate.

As part of North East Lincolnshire Council’s Community Engagement Week, the North East Lincolnshire Council Question Time panel will be inviting questions and debate at a live event at Whitgift Theatre, Grimsby, on Monday, September 15.

On the panel will be: the Leader of the Council, Councillor Andrew De Freitas; the Deputy Leader Councillor Keith Brookes; Great Grimsby MP Austin Mitchell; divisional commander of Humberside Police, Dave Hilditch; North East Lincolnshire Council’s new chief executive, Tony Hunter; chair of the North East Lincolnshire NHS Care Trust Plus, Val Waterhouse; plus the North East Lincolnshire representative on the national Youth Parliament and her deputy.

Chairing the panel on the night will be Mark Webb, chairman of the Local Strategic Partnership and managing director of the Cleethorpes Chronicle.

The event, beginning at 6pm, will include a finger buffet prior to the debates, and crèche facilities can be arranged with advance notice.

Tickets for the event are free but must be booked in advance. If you would like to join the audience, please contact Paul Windley on 01472 324121 or Paul Wisken on 01472 324124. Alternatively you can email paul.windley@nelincs.gov.uk or paul.wisken@nelincs.gov.uk. Or you can write to: NELC Question Time tickets, Law and Democratic Services, Municipal Offices, Grimsby, N E Lincs, DN31 1HU. The closing date for ticket applications is Wednesday, September 3

Audience members who would like to ask a question of the panel on the night are asked to submit their questions beforehand. You can either do this when applying for your ticket, or you can submit your questions separately, sending them to the above contact details with your name and ticket number. The deadline for question submissions is Wednesday, September 10.