In its latest statistics, the ONS said male life expectancy was lower than in the last pre-pandemic period (2017-19) in four-fifths of the UK and in 70% of areas for women.

The South of England had the 10 highest area life expectancies for men and women. For men, the 10 lowest areas were in Scotland, the North of England and Wales. For women, the lowest were mostly in Scotland.

Blackpool had the shortest life expectancy in England (73.1 for men and 78.9 for women) with the highest rates recorded by Harts for men (83.4) and Kensington and Chelsea for women (86.5).

In Scotland, Glasgow had the lowest life expectancy (73.6 for men and 78.3 for women) with East Renfrewshire recording the highest (81.0 for men and 84.5 for women).

In Wales, the lowest life expectancy was in Merthyr Tydfil for men (75.4) and Blaenau Gwent for women (79.0). The highest for both men (80.4 years) and women (83.9 years) was in Monmouthshire.

Veena Raleigh, senior fellow, The King's Fund, said the data showed the ‘geographical divide' in England between the North and the South, adding: ‘The Government will need to invest in turning the tide on population health, which means taking bold action to reduce the prevalence of preventable conditions like cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

‘Tackling the wide geographical inequalities in ill health and premature mortality, and the socio-economic factors that drive them, must be a core part of these strategies if the goal of reducing the 2.8m people unable to work because of long-term sickness is to be achieved.

‘Reducing the gross health inequalities that blight our society is both an economic necessity and a civic duty.'