New measures have been announced by the Scottish Government in a long-term bid to monitor and tackle health inequalities in Scotland.

Low birth weight, mental wellbeing and premature mortality (under the age of 75) are set to be assessed as part of the Equally Well report carried out by the Ministerial Taskforce on Health Inequalities.

The assessment will involve reviewing the gap between the best and worst levels, while the scale of the problem is also set to be monitored alongside how steep the inequalities gradient is.

Commenting on the new measures, Public Health Minister Shona Robison said: "Nobody should be condemned to a life of ill health because of where they live or their family's background. Sadly, however, poor health and poverty tend to go hand-in-hand – even in a modern Scotland.

"In Equally Well we set out our vision to tackle these health inequalities with a radical rethink of Scotland's public services, designed to achieve generational transformation.

"This is not something which can be achieved overnight which is why it's vital that we have clear and consistent measures in place to allow us to monitor progress and ensure we are closing the inequality gap."

The Equally Well report will also look at health inequality indicators including healthy life expectancy, deaths between the ages of 15 and 44, coronary heart disease, cancer, and alcohol problems (hospital admissions of under-75s and deaths aged 45-74).