According to The Health Foundation, health inequalities are growing in the UK and poor health is estimated to be costing the economy £100 billion per year in ‘lost productivity’. Since 2020, the number of people inactive has increased by 700,000 and between 2019 and 2022, the number of women inactive due to long-term sickness increased by 172,000 .
With the Department for Work and Pensions preparing to station job coaches at GP surgeries in an attempt to actively encourage people back into employment, evidence from the front-line indicates that government agencies are not best placed to provide solutions to tackle this issue.
An alternative, civil society-driven approach is now needed to make progress in this area and give the UK economy the boost it needs.
