ADPH responds to Keep Britain Working report

In response to today’s Keep Britain Working report, and the Government’s announcement of new employer-led Vanguards. Ruth Tennant, ADPH Board Member and lead for work and health, said:

“Work has a huge impact on our health and wellbeing with knock-on benefits for workplaces, productivity, the economy, and the wider community. Today’s report highlights just how big a problem ill-health is for the economy, and it is absolutely right that the Government is looking at how to help businesses provide secure jobs in an environment that supports people to stay in work.

“At a local level, Directors of Public Health, who are responsible for the health and wellbeing of their local population, are already working with partners in local government, the NHS, voluntary organisations and a wide range of businesses to try and break down the barriers that are currently reducing access to equal opportunities. This includes working to improve the health of working aged adults and to strengthen the links between skills, work and health across the NHS and local government by delivering joint schemes with local employers as well as programmes like Connect to Work which support people with complex barriers to accessing sustainable jobs.

“We hope that today marks the beginning of a concerted joint effort to reverse the alarming rise in workplace sickness and we would therefore very much welcome the opportunity to share our knowledge and experience with the new Vanguards. Only by working together, in partnership with all the Government departments and across all sectors, will we be able to effectively stop us sliding into what the report accurately describes as an avoidable crisis.”