Dave Finch

How to keep sick people in employment Support often comes too late — after workers have left jobs and when they have little chance of going back

Great piece in @financialtimes.com from Chair of our Commission for #healthierworkinglives

Acting early to prevent people from leaving work due to sickness is a sustainable way to reduce pressures on the welfare state

www.ft.com/content/d324...

Great piece in @financialtimes.com from Chair of our Commission for #healthierworkinglives

Acting early to prevent people from leaving work due to sickness is a sustainable way to reduce pressures on the welfare state

www.ft.com/content/d324...

Poverty | The Health Foundation Poverty is a risk to health, with persistent poverty more strongly associated with worse health than shorter exposures.

Explore more about the relationship between poverty and health ⬇️ www.health.org.uk/evidence-hub...

Poverty can damage health - leaving people unable to meet their basic living needs, such as adequate heating for the home, appropriate clothing or adequate nutrition. 

People in poverty are more likely to report poor health.

www.health.org.uk/evidence-hub...

Today’s release also highlights the increased risk of being in poverty for disabled people – who will be most affected by the coming cuts.

23% of families containing a disabled person live in poverty, compared to 20% of families without a disabled person.

Households Below Average Income: an analysis of the UK income distribution: FYE 1995 to FYE 2023

Today’s poverty statistics show that in 2023/24 31% of children were in poverty in the UK

Reducing this is now harder for govt's child poverty strategy with planned cuts to disability and health-related benefits to leave a further 50,000 children in poverty in 2029/30

www.gov.uk/government/s...

The cuts to disability and health related benefits in the Spring Statement at £7bn a year by 2029-30 are 4x those set out by the previous government's changes to WCA descriptors.

Short term savings are unlikely to deal with underlying problems increasing the welfare bill

Appears to be something similar with spending cuts. New PIP and UC health changes equate to £7bn a year cuts in total, offset by increased standard element and reversal of previous changes to WCA descriptors, giving the £4.5bn net cut.

DWP is using a sleight of hand in its disability benefit cuts impact assessment: Actual increase in poverty is closer to 400,000, not the 250,000 in the impact assessment.

Quick thread explaining why. 🧵1/7

Good to see this - it reflects one of seven recommendations from the @healthfoundation.bsky.social's Commission for #HealthierWorkingLives. The government must move beyond short-term fixes and invest in long-term support for work and health. More in the Commission’s final report:

The major question thrown up by Labour's benefits plans The debate has sparked a wider dilemma about the broader purpose of welfare

🧵 Good to see our commissioned research mentioned by @faisalislam.bsky.social

The upcoming Green Paper must offer a vision for keeping people healthy and in work, fixing gaps in the system such as low Statutory Sick Pay and inadequate support for those who risk falling out of work⬇️
buff.ly/eDyfxXP

Action for healthier working lives The Commission for Healthier Working Lives’ final report sets out the need for a new approach to work and health, outlining seven key recommendations to lay the foundation for sustained long-term chan...

The final report of the Commission for #HealthierWorkingLives proposes a new approach, preventing health issues arising and ensuring timely support

A positive vision and commitment to long term policy change is needed, rather than short term cuts www.health.org.uk/reports-and-...

Timely analysis from @theifs.bsky.social we've funded with @jrf-uk.bsky.social exploring role of health in increases in disability benefit claims

Highlights the role of worsening mental health of the working age population

And underscores the need to address underlying factors affecting health

Various indicators point to a deterioration in population mental health – likely contributing to rising disability benefit caseloads | Institute for Fiscal Studies Mental health has worsened since the pandemic. This is consistent with rising disability benefit claims for mental health.

A few months ago the FT suggested the surge in disability benefit claims may not have been driven by an actual rise in illness/disability, having found limited evidence for such a rise since the pandemic

Now the IFS has published research suggesting there has been a rise ifs.org.uk/news/various...

Action for healthier working lives The Commission for Healthier Working Lives’ final report sets out the need for a new approach to work and health, outlining seven key recommendations to lay the foundation for sustained long-term…

📣 NEW: Final report by our Commission for #HealthierWorkingLives.

The Commissioners say government and employers must act early when health issues arise – not wait until people have already left work ⬇️

buff.ly/EfkpBQu

More support for people in ill health to stay in work ‘could save UK £1bn’ Commission for Healthier Working Lives warns against cutting benefits and calls for proactive route for 8m affected

Cuts to welfare won’t solve the working age health challenge.

Coverage of new @healthfoundation.bsky.social report in todays @theguardian.com

It’s not enough to reform welfare - there must be more support for people in work but in ill health

www.theguardian.com/business/202...

'Devolving more power to local areas is an opportunity to build healthier, thriving communities. Combined Authorities and local councils hold many of the levers to take action on the building blocks of health, such as people’s access to good quality work, transport and housing.' Katherine Merrifield, Assistant Director of Healthy Lives at the Health Foundation

Responding to the English Devolution White Paper, Katherine Merrifield says there is much to commend but the devil will be in the detail.

New powers and fairer funding are critical to delivering the government’s health mission but more clarity is needed.

Read more ⬇️
https://buff.ly/4fk6aEY

'The headline measure of healthy life expectancy – an estimate of average years people live in good health combining life expectancy and self-reported health – showed little improvement in the decade before the pandemic, and is yet to return to pre-pandemic levels.' Fred Taylor, Senior Data Analyst and Dave Finch, Assistant Director, Healthy Lives at the Health Foundation

What is behind changes in health between the 2011 and 2021 censuses?

In a new blog, @davefinch.bsky.social and Fred Taylor explore what recent ONS data releases tell us about the scale of the challenge of improving health and reducing inequalities in the UK.

Read more ⬇️
https://buff.ly/4fmd64c

Copy of paragraph 97 from the national planning policy framework. It reads: Local planning authorities should refuse applications for hot food takeaways and fast food outlets: a) within walking distance of schools and other places where children and young people congregate, unless the location is within a designated town centre; or b) in locations where there is evidence that a concentration of such uses is having an adverse impact on local health, pollution or anti-social-behaviour

Out just now, this is now explicit guidance in the National Planning Policy Framework!

This will be a huge help for councils wanting to create healthy places, reducing the scope for costly legal challenges from fast food companies. #HealthyPlaceShaping

www.gov.uk/government/p...

Trend chart showing rate of alcohol deaths in England per 100,000 between 2006 and 2023. Shows rise from 10.8 per 100,000 in 2019 to 15.0 per 100,000 in 2023. A rise of 39% (and an absolute increase in numbers of 42%). Data from https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/local-alcohol-profiles/data#page/4/gid/1938132984/pat/159/par/K02000001/ati/15/are/E92000001/iid/91380/age/1/sex/4/cat/-1/ctp/-1/yrr/1/cid/4/tbm/1

Today's OHID data shows the number of deaths caused by alcohol in England have now risen for *five years in a row* and are 40% higher than pre-pandemic.

England hasn't had an alcohol strategy for over a decade.

The case for action has never been stronger 👇
www.telegraph.co.uk/global-healt...

New awards of disability benefits for adults - comparing Scotland with England and Wales - Scottish Health Equity Research Unit Adult disability benefits are non-means tested payments available to people with ill health or a disability to compensate for some of the additional costs of living. These payments are not dependent…

Today we have published new analysis of disability benefits to adults in Scotland. Disability benefit claims have risen significantly across Great Britain post-pandemic and (as expected following ADP roll-out) even more so in Scotland.

https://buff.ly/3VfFTjU

Council funding to be overhauled to deliver better outcomes Funding reform kickstarted to fix the foundations of local government and better use taxpayer cash

Big news today in #localgov land: the govt has announced a policy statement on the future of local govt funding.

The long delayed so-called “fair funding review” is back- a new consultation will look at a system which “matches funding with need”…

www.gov.uk/government/n...

📢New research! Our report for the Commission for #HealthierWorkingLives, supported by
@healthfoundation.bsky.social reveals that poor job quality threatens the health of the UK workforce with 1.7 million people reporting work-related ill health in the last year. Read: bit.ly/3CH4uYB 1/

Towards a healthier workforce This interim report of the Commission for Healthier Working Lives both highlights why our working-age health challenges demand attention and provides areas where immediate action can be taken.

Lord Bethell highlighting working age health as a cause for significant concern to Treasury and others.

Read more on the challenge of working age ill health - and what needs to be done - in the @healthfoundation.bsky.social recent report.

#ADPHConf24

www.health.org.uk/publications...

With housing and planning remaining high on the political agenda, & the introduction of a revised NPPF, our Annual Conference will explore how the built environment sector can maximise the potential of the new proposals. www.tcpa.org.uk/event/save-the-date-the-tcpa-annual-conference-2024-in-person/

Mission Possible? The Government’s Overarching Goal For Reducing Inequalities In Healthy Life Expectancy | The King's Fund The government's ambitious plan to reduce inequalities in healthy life expectancy holds promise. But with broad goals and no clear timeline, the journey is complex says David Buck.

We've heard a lot about the #10yearhealthplan (NHS). And far less about the #healthmission. It has a goal to reduce inequalities in healthy life expectancy #HLE by half. A huge ambition, is it mission possible? Me for @thekingsfund.bsky.social www.kingsfund.org.uk/insight-and-...

I learnt a lot from visiting the “Hard Graft” exhibition on #Work #Health & #Rights at the Wellcome Collection in London today. Beautifully curated. Highly recommended if you are visiting or in the Euston area.

<em>Population and Development Review</em> | Population Council Journal | Wiley Online Library Steady and significant improvements in life expectancy have been a bright spot for human progress for the last century or more. Recently, this success has shown signs of faltering in some high-income...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Progress Stalled? The Uncertain Future of Mortality in High-Income Countries

For anyone that wants detailed demographic and epidemiological crystal ball gazing. .. this is truly excellent
Detailed
Few stones left unturned

Health conditions among working-age people Long-term health conditions affect working-age people both in and outside of employment.

We have more on the health of the UK's workforce with our interactive chart

www.health.org.uk/evidence-hub...

And watch out for forthcoming research for the Commission for #HealthierWorkingLives on the connections between work quality and health.

So, what needs to change? Work can (and should) support health, but for too many, this isn’t the case.

Employers should prioritise preventing work-related ill health, addressing pressures like excessive workloads and ensuring support is in place for workers and managers.