Initial Labour Party proposals around health and work have been given a cautious thumbs-up by health professionals, even if the details of what the party is planning in this area still remain vague.
With the first TV debates set to take place this week, but the party election manifestos still yet to be published, detailed policy proposals around the post-election work and health landscape remain, for now, sketchy.
But with the poll showing a likely Labour win on 4 July, attention is beginning to focus on what the party may be intending around health and work.
In a tweet on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, Labour said it was pledging to establish a national jobs and careers service, put in place “more local plans for support to get more people with health conditions and disabilities back into work”, and establish a “youth guarantee” offering opportunities for training, an apprenticeship, or help to find work for all 18-21 year olds.
NHS Confederation chief executive Matthew Taylor said of the plans: “Labour are right to identify this as a critical challenge, with almost three million people in the UK who are now economically inactive due to long-term sickness.
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“We need more support from physiotherapists, counsellors and other specialist staff to help people who are not in work due to poor physical or mental health to overcome the barriers they face in getting into and staying in employment. Today’s proposals identify some of the key ways this could be achieved.”
Dr Jennifer Dixon, chief executive of the Health Foundation, also welcomed the focus on work and health. “Britain’s workforce is getting more and more unhealthy. This is one of the biggest economic and social challenges we face – with 2.8 million economically inactive today, and our projections indicating there will be 700,000 more working age adults living with major illness by 2040. It is encouraging that Labour sees the scale of the problem, and has set out steps to tackle this,” she said.
“Focusing on place will be key to turning the ship around, and devolving powers to councils to tackle economic inactivity is a good start and will allow areas to be flexible to the needs of local employers and residents, and to experiment. Such action could be targeted and effective by linking data between the DWP, councils and the NHS at a local level. Without the data, councils will be flying blind,” Dixon added.
The move follows calls by SOM, the Society of Occupational Medicine, for all political parties to pledge greater investment to support people to stay and return to work.
It has also called for better linking of primary and community care, more local health and wellbeing strategies, fit note reform and, in a reiteration of its long-standing campaign goals, universal access to occupational health provision.
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