The UK will miss inter­national commitments on reducing the number of deaths from preventable diseases unless it prioritises the prevention of ill health, a group of leading charities has warned.

The World Health Organisation's target of reducing preventable deaths by 25% by 2025 will not be met unless there is a national plan to improve health, says the Richmond Group.

Nearly one in four deaths - more than 100,000 deaths every year - are potentially avoidable, according to estimates.

A report by the group of 10 charities, which includes the British Heart Foundation, Breakthrough Breast Cancer and Macmillan Cancer Support, outlines nine key recommendations to put disease prevention at the top of the agenda.

A national plan for health improvement, led by the Prime Minister, should be created and prevention should be made a key consideration in local authority responsibilities, the group suggests.

Public health should also be made the responsibility of all parts of government, with all new policies and publicly funded programmes being assessed for their impact on health.

It also says action on prevention of diseases should be prioritised through­out government, from health to education, housing, transport, planning, licensing and regulation.

The report also says tackling common risk factors, such as smoking, inactivity, unhealthy diet and alcohol, would drastically reduce the number of people affected by heart disease, cancer, lung disease, Type 2 diabetes, asthma and stroke.

It would also help prevent or delay the onset of conditions such as dementia.