How chronic ill-health damages the UK's supply-side

This Larry Elliott piece looks at the implications of Britons poor health for the nation's supply-side, and by definition the economy's wider macroeconomic objectives, something recognised by a number of think-tanks.

The estimated cost of this is £43bn per year, with the affected individuals having an income that it £2,200 lower than average as a result of their ill-health. Certainly the pandemic has played a part in this but if you look at life expectancy among OECD members it's also part of a long-term trend that has seen the UK go from 7th in 1960 to 23rd today.

As a complementary issues, Bloomberg drills down into the cost of living crisis in the UK, looking at the effect of the crisis on the poorest in UK society, and the ability of food banks to meet the needs of these people, not least those who have children and can't afford childcare.