Employment & Unemployment
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An Evaluation of the Wirral Health Related Worklessness Programme
The relationship between health and productivity is a key public health priority in the UK, with evidence showing the positive benefits of employment on individual, communities and the wider society. Unemployment due to health is a priority issue in Wirral. In January 2019, more people claimed out-of-work benefits, Employment Support Allowance and Incapacity Benefit in Wirral compared to the national average. This evaluation report reviews the interventions that were developed to support those people not in employment and hardest to reach. The intervention used an asset-based approach to deliver upstream solutions to support people to address the challenges that characterised their lives. Executive Summary Full Report -
Work, worklessness and health: local infographic tool (September 2016)
This tool includes a slide set with regional and local level data relating to work, worklessness and health for each county or unitary authority in England. The work, worklessness and health local infographic tool has been developed from the national work and health infographics. -
Health & Worklessness: Tackling entrenched problems in service delivery related to worklessness to improve outcomes for residents (December 2015)
Health inequalities across Wirral, particularly between the east and west side of the borough, persist regardless of the cross sector work to alleviate and minimise their negative impact. This research was jointly commissioned between Public Health and Regeneration in order to gain a greater understanding of the barriers people are facing when existing on Employment Support Allowance with subsequent outcomes for their mental health and wellbeing. Public Health wanted to understand what motivated people to change their behaviour and how the place where they live impacts on their motivation to change. Alongside developing our collective understanding as to these issues facing people in the borough there is an absolute recognition of the need to build the capacity of communities to take responsibility for their own health; using asset based community development techniques. This research approach was an ethnographic method that focused on observing and interviewing real people to gain vital insight. Now the work is complete the research is being shared with local professionals and leaders and there has been agreement about the need for the need for transformation of services and investment strategy. -
The contribution of further education and skills to social mobility - Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (October 2015)
This review of published research from government, academics and think tanks investigates how taking part in further education helps people get better jobs and wages. It also looks at the effects further education has on the prospects for the children of learners. -
How does unemployment affect self-assessed health? A systematic review focusing on subgroup effects - BMC Public Health (January 2015)
This systematic review assesses how unemployment relates to self-assessed health, with a focus on its effects on subgroups such as age, gender and marital status. The only clear patterns of association found were for socioeconomic status (manual workers suffer more), reason for unemployment (being unemployed due to health reasons is worse), and social network (a strong network is beneficial). -
Still in Tune? The Skills System and the Changing Structures of Work (January 2014)
This Skills Commission report considers how the UK economy and labour market have changed in recent decades, and the extent to which the UK’s skills system has kept up with that change. It concludes that the skills system “is not adequately matched to the modern structures of work in 2014”, and calls for deep-reaching reforms. Problems include uncertainty around responsibility for training in an increasingly flexible labour market; declining social mobility exacerbated by the poor alignment of skills provision to work; and a fragmented system that makes it difficult for employers to engage. The report highlights that for those working in low-paid jobs the harsh reality is that it is very difficult to progress and move out of them and this potential could have long term effects on a number of local people and their families, possibly exacerbating noted health inequalities.