Council bosses have warned against using new data on early and premature deaths to create some sort of national league table.

Public Health England (PHE) today launched a new website – Longer Lives – , which contains data about early mortality rates in all local authority areas.

The rates are provided as overall figures and by four specific causes – cancer, heart disease and stroke, lung disease and liver disease.

According to the website, Rotherham MBC and Redcar and Cleveland BC have the best rates of reducing premature deaths amongst areas with high levels of deprivation.

Bracknell Forest Council and Central Bedfordshire Council had the worst levels of premature mortality among the most affluent authorities.

PHE's chief knowledge officer, Professor John Newton, said the new website will give a ‘clear picture of health in local areas'.

The chair of the Local Government Association's (LGA) community wellbeing board, Cllr Zoe Patrick, said the data on the Longer Lives website must be used ‘with caution'.

‘Using it out of context to create any sort of national league table dangerously oversimplifies matters and ignores the very complex socio-economic and cultural factors that affect the premature mortality rate,' said Cllr Patrick.

‘Attempts to measure performance and rank councils in this way are therefore deeply troubling. Not to mention that improving the public's health is not the sole responsibility of local government.'

But health secretary Jeremy Hunt said the ‘shocking' variation in early deaths ‘cannot continue unchecked'.

‘I want areas to use the data released today to identify local public health challenges like smoking, drinking and obesity and to take action to help achieve our ambition for saving 30,000 lives a year by 2020,' said Mr Hunt.