1. Growing health concerns impact the economy
David Finchdeputy director of Healthy Lives at the Health Foundation, explains why the government must take action on preventative health.
In the decade before the pandemic, growth in life expectancy has stalledbreaking a trend of steady improvement since the 1980s. A growing share of the working-age population also reports long-term illness, with a particular increase in mental health problems.
The financial austerity of the 2010s, which led to cuts in public services and social security, is partly to blame. It was also a period of stagnant real profit growth. And our income and standard of living are essential to our health.
People’s health also varies greatly between different groups, with large disparities in life expectancy depending on where you live in the UK. A larger share of the population in northern areas of England are diagnosed with poor health. People from Bangladeshi, Pakistani and black Caribbean communities, for example, also experience poor health.
