Health and Social Care Secretary has committed to supporting the Government's growth
mission by improving the health of the nation, getting people
back to work and boosting the economy through our life sciences
sector.
Speaking at an event for the Institute for Global Change
today, said he has asked the Department of Health and
Social Care to expand its focus to boosting economic growth, a
day after the Chancellor set out her mission to fix the
economy.
Health and Social Care Secretary said:
“I want to end the begging bowl culture, where the Health
Secretary only ever goes to the Treasury to ask for more money. I
want to deliver the Treasury billions of pounds of economic
growth.
“This government's agenda for health and social care can help
drag our economy out of the sluggish productivity and poor growth
of recent years.
“By cutting waiting lists, we can get Britain back to health and
back to work, and by taking bold action on public health we can
build the healthy society needed for a healthy economy.
“We will make Britain a powerhouse for life sciences and medical
technology. If we can combine the care of the NHS and the genius
of our country's leading scientific minds, we can develop modern
treatments for patients and help get Britain's economy
booming.
“The NHS and social care are the biggest employers in most parts
of our country. They should be engines of economic growth, giving
opportunities in training and work to local people, as well as
providing public services.
“When said he would lead a
mission-driven government, this is what he meant. Working
together to a shared mission, this government will get Britain
booming.”
The Health and Social Care Secretary laid out three steps to
drive this goal:
- By cutting waiting times and improving public health, the
government will support people with their health and speed up
their return to work, while maintaining the good health of those
in work.
- The government will make the UK a life sciences and medical
technology powerhouse. By ensuring the NHS works hand-in-hand
with life sciences research institutions and medical technology
companies, the government will drive the development of new
treatments and help grow the industries.
- The government will use the NHS and social care's role as
local and regional anchor institutions as engines of economic
growth, by providing training and job opportunities to local
people across the country.
There are now 2.8m people inactive due to long-term sickness.
Improving health and boosting the labour market back to
pre-pandemic levels would deliver significant economic
growth.
Notes to editors
Ill-health stats
- The percentage of people whose main reason for being
economically inactive is long-term sickness has generally been
increasing since before the pandemic. The latest figures for
February to April 2024 show there are now 2.8 million people who
are economically inactive due to long-term sickness, an increase
of 0.1 percentage points (127,000) on the year. Long-term
sickness is the most common reason (for the working-age
population as a whole) for being economically inactive.
- The economic cost of ill-health makes up a significant
proportion of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In 2016, the
Department for Work and Pensions estimated this amounted to
around £100 billion each year, with more recent external
estimates suggesting it could be around £150 billion, equating to
7 percent of GDP.
INAC01 SA: Economic
inactivity by reason (seasonally adjusted) - Office for National
Statistics (ons.gov.uk)
Work, health and
disability green paper: data pack - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
The economic cost of ill
health among the working-age population - Oxera
Life sciences stats
Gross Value Added in in pharmaceutical manufacturing grew at an
annual rate of 3% between 1997 and 2010, compared to 1% between
2010 and 2023.
