Responding to the Office for Budget Responsibility’s fiscal risks report out today, Lily Parsey from the International Longevity Centre UK (ILC) argues:

“The Office for Budget Responsibility’s latest fiscal risks report out today paints a stark picture – the UK continues to be one of the worst-hit economies by the pandemic across advanced economies, and we’ll likely feel the economic toll of the pandemic for years to come.”

“The Government may face some very tough decisions as we come out of COVID-19, with the report predicting around £10 billion of unfunded pressures on departmental spending on average over the next three years. But while lots of the additional spending in the immediate pandemic response has gone to health budgets, it’s absolutely vital that we don’t see cuts there.”

“The pandemic has shown us first-hand that failing to support people to lead healthy as well as longer lives not only robs people’s quality of life, but overwhelms our NHS and cripples our economy.”

“Looking beyond the immediate costs of poor health, we know that we need a healthy population to help the UK bounce back from the disastrous effects of the pandemic. Making sure we tackle the NHS’ backlog head-on and get on the front foot to prioritise preventative interventions that support people to stay healthy before they develop conditions is not just important for the nation’s health, but for the nation’s purse too.”

“One of the big lessons from COVID-19 is that the costs of failing to invest in preventative interventions are simply too high to ignore. So looking at the next months, the next years and even the next decades in the context of an ageing society, it’s time to double up efforts, not cut spending on health.”

Contact

For press queries, please contact press@ilcuk.org.uk or +44 (0)208 638 0832. Spokespeople are available for interview.

Notes

The Office for Budget Responsibility’s financial risks report can be found at: Fiscal risks report – July 2021 – Office for Budget Responsibility (obr.uk)

The ILC’s Delivering prevention in an ageing world programme seeks to encourage governments across the world to invest in preventative health and tackle inequalities in access to health.

About the International Longevity Centre UK (ILC)

ILC is the UK’s specialist think tank on the impact of longevity on society, and what happens next.

The International Longevity Centre UK was established in 1997 as one of the members of the International Longevity Centre Global Alliance, an international network on longevity.

Since our inception, we have published over 250 reports, organised over 300 events including the annual Future of Ageing conference.

We work with central government, local government, the private sector, and professional and academic associations to provoke conversations and pioneer solutions for a society where everyone can thrive, regardless of age.