7. To ask the Scottish Government what the mortality rates for cancer, heart disease and stroke are in the Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley constituency, and how these compare with Scotland as a whole. (S5O-03032)

Information Services Division Scotland does not routinely publish data at the constituency level, but I can provide the member with data from Ayrshire and Arran health board. The latest mortality data show that in Scotland, over the last ten years, stroke mortality has reduced by around 42 per cent, heart disease mortality by 36 per cent and cancer mortality by 10 per cent. In relation to Ayrshire and Arran health board, ISDS figures show that over the same period cancer mortality has reduced by 2.1 per cent, stroke mortality by 43 per cent and heart disease mortality by 30 per cent. Those figures show that there is a continued downward trend in that health board area.

I thank the minister for that answer, in so far as it gives us the position across Ayrshire. At some stage, I hope that the Parliament can produce data on a constituency basis, given that most members represent constituencies.

Does the minister agree that there is a clear link between poverty and ill health, which has been a consistent problem in my part of Ayrshire for many years? Can he give some indication of what the Government is doing to address that and close the gap?

Scotland has seen significant improvements in public health, although there are deep-rooted, historical issues in population health that we are working hard to address through many of our strategies. We know that heart disease, stroke and certain cancers, like other lifestyle-related illnesses, are most pronounced in areas of deprivation. Tackling those inequalities can be done only by tackling their root causes, rather than their consequences. That involves ending poverty, paying fair wages, supporting families and improving our physical and social environment; and, across Government, we put an emphasis on all those areas.

Such issues are made much more difficult to address by the United Kingdom Government’s continued welfare reform programme.