THE UK’s life expectancy stalled in 2017 for the first time since records began – as it actually falls in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Analysis by the Office for National Statistics shows after years of Brits living longer the progress has stalled – and can expect to die earlier than people in most other Western countries.

Across the UK as a whole, life expectancy did not improve at all between 2015 and 2017 - remaining at 79.2 years for men and 82.9 years for women.

But it actually declined by 0.1 years for men and women in Scotland and Wales, and for males in Northern Ireland.

The slowdown in increased life expectancy began in 2011 say the ONS, with a range of factors suggested – including an ageing population, complex health issues and cuts to NHS and social care funding.

It means overall British women die around two years younger than in most European countries, and four years younger than in Japan.

But the UK is still higher than America, where female average life expectancy is 81.3 years.

Responding to the figures Sophie Sanders from the ONS' Centre for Ageing and Demography said: 'The slowdown in life expectancy improvements in the UK has continued, as 2015 to 2017 saw the lowest improvements in life expectancy since the start of the series in 1980 to 1982.

“Some decreases in life expectancy at birth have been seen in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland whilst in England life expectancy has remained unchanged from 2014 to 2016.

“This slowing in improvements is reflected in the chances of surviving to age 90 years from birth, which has also seen virtually no improvement since 2012 to 2014.”

Today’s announcement was described as "concerning" by Janet Morrison, chief executive of Independent Age, the older people's charity.

She said: "More must be done to understand what is driving this.

"These figures starkly highlight the need for health and care services to adapt to our ageing population, and the government must ensure that these services can support people to live long, healthy, happy lives."

Veena Raleigh, a senior fellow at the Kings Fund health think-tank, said “several studies have attributed both the 2015 fall in life expectancy and the tailing off of mortality improvements after 2010 to the consequences of austerity-driven constraints on health, social care and other public spending and their impact on services”.

But she added in a blog that: “Others question the methods and findings of the research.

“While acknowledging that austerity could have had negative consequences on the quality of care, they suggest that the statistical associations don't prove causality and that many other factors, such as the growing complexity of medical conditions in an ageing population, could contribute towards those extra deaths.”

Out of the four nations in the UK, Scotland has the lowest life expectancy for a baby born in 2015-17, with 77.0 years for males and 81.1 years for females.

England has the highest life expectancy: 79.5 years for males and 83.1 years for females.