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BackgroundReductions in local government funding implemented in 2010 due to austerity policies have been associated with worsening socioeconomic inequalities in mortality. Less is known about the relationship of these reductions with healthcare inequalities; therefore, we investigated whether areas with greater reductions in local government funding had greater increases in socioeconomic inequalities in emergency admissions.MethodsWe examined inequalities between English local authority districts (LADs) using a fixed-effects linear regression to estimate the association between LAD expenditure reductions, their level of deprivation using the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) and average rates of (all and avoidable) emergency admissions for the years 2010–2017. We also examined changes in inequalities in emergency admissions using the Absolute Gradient Index (AGI), which is the modelled gap between the most and least deprived neighbourhoods in an area.ResultsLADs within the most deprived IMD quintile had larger pounds per capita expenditure reductions, higher rates of all and avoidable emergency admissions, and greater between-neighbourhood inequalities in admissions. However, expenditure reductions were only associated with increasing average rates of all and avoidable emergency admissions and inequalities between neighbourhoods in local authorities in England’s three least deprived IMD quintiles. For a LAD in the least deprived IMD quintile, a yearly reduction of £100 per capita in total expenditure was associated with a yearly increase of 47 (95% CI 22 to 73) avoidable admissions, 142 (95% CI 70 to 213) all-cause emergency admissions and a yearly increase in inequalities between neighbourhoods of 48 (95% CI 14 to 81) avoidable and 140 (95% CI 60 to 220) all-cause emergency admissions. In 2017, a LAD average population was ~170 000.ConclusionAusterity policies implemented in 2010 impacted less deprived local authorities, where emergency admissions and inequalities between neighbourhoods increased, while in the most deprived areas, emergency admissions were unchanged, remaining high and persistent.

UK adolescents and young adults are facing increasing rates of mental health problems and extremely difficult economic circumstances. There is strong evidence that interventions to increase income during adolescence can mitigate conditions such as anxiety and depression. However, policymakers lack quantified risk differences in the probability of mental illness between different income groups by which to establish the prospective scale of mitigation. Here, we estimate risk differences using two longitudinal cohort studies: Millennium Cohort Study (cohort members born between 2000 and 2002) and Next Steps (born 1989–1990). We quantify the association between income and risk of depression at age 14, serious mental illness at age 17, and non-psychotic mental illness at age 25. We also conduct sensitivity analysis using numerous other markers of socioeconomic (SES) status. We estimate that those living in the poorest quintile group of households have a greater probability of mental health problems than the richest at ages 14, 17, and 25. We find that other markers of SES status—subjective financial strain, cohort member assessed wealth relative to friends, occupational class, and education—display steeper associations with mental health symptoms relative to associations between mental health symptoms and income. Our findings are likely to be conservative underestimates since they are likely to be attenuated by well-known and large measurement errors in both mental health problems and living standards during adolescence.