a study published in bmj open in 2017 linked austerity to 120,000 extra deaths in england, primarily as a result of a reduction in the number of nurses. by 2018 figures from the office for national statistics (ons) were showing a fall in life expectancy for those in poorer socioeconomic groups and those living in deprived areas, while average uk life expectancy had stopped improving. public health england was asked to carry out a review of life expectancy trends but government ministers said that the arguments put forward by some academics, that austerity had contributed to the change, could not be proved. ons figures published in 2018 indicated that the slowdown in general life expectancy increase was one of the highest among a group of 20 of the world's leading economies.