The government has set up a ‘Labour Market Advisory Board’ to tackle rising levels of worklessness, including because of ill health.
The board, led by work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall, met for the first time this week to address what the government is calling the ‘greatest employment challenge for a generation’.
A government white paper is set to be published on the issue later this autumn, the Department for Work and Pensions has said.
The board is made up of labour market experts from across business, industrial relations and academia and will consider how to address economic inactivity, in particular how best to tackle the root causes for people remaining out of work. These will include how to address poor physical and mental health.
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Kendall said: “Spiralling inactivity is the greatest employment challenge for a generation, with a near-record 2.8 million people out of work due to long-term sickness.
“Addressing these challenges will take time, but we’re going to fix the foundations of the economy and tackle economic inactivity.”
The board is being chaired by Paul Gregg, former director of the Centre for Analysis of Social Policy at the University of Bath.
Other members include Steven Machin, professor of economics and director of the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics, Lindsey Macmillia, professor of economics at the Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities, and Gavin Kelly, executive chair at the Resolution Foundation.
Anita Charlesworth, director of research and economics at the Health Foundation is also a member, as is Stuart McIntyre, professor of economics at the University of Strathclyde, Ruby McGregor Smith from the House of Lords, and Nicola Smith, head of rights, international, social and economics department at the TUC.
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