Health

Submissions are open until 15th February for the IFS-GHE Workshop on Health Economics in LMIC 2025

We discuss the government's welfare reforms aimed at helping sick and disabled people into work, and what the changes mean for health-related benefits

On average, women who remained in work for longer following increases in the state pension age saw improved cognition and less physical disability.

Have increases in NHS waiting lists and waiting times contributed to the growing number of  people claiming working-age health-related benefits? 

Today’s SFC report highlights the fiscal challenges facing the Scottish and UK governments over coming decades.

Performance against the NHS' 18-week waiting times target has since deteriorated gradually before a sharp fall during the pandemic.

18-week performance has remained around 60% since 2022, despite the list size varying between 6.1 million and 7.8 million during this time. 

Although performance improves in each case, in none of our scenarios does performance reach the 92% target by the end of the parliament. 

In none of our scenarios with medium growth in treatment volumes is the NHS' 18-week target achieved by the end of the parliament.

Modelling of NHS waiting times shows increased activity, demand reduction, and patient prioritisation needed to meet the 18-week waiting time target.

Simulation modelling of NHS elective waiting times in England shows that the government’s 18-week target is unlikely to be met in this parliament.

This £5bn saving is the largest cut to welfare in almost a decade, but is smaller in scale than cuts made during the 2010s.

The gap between the basic level of unemployment benefit and the highest level of incapacity benefit which had widened for decades is now set to shrink

The reforms announced today, to be implemented or consulted on, represent a fundamental change to the way that the state supports out-of-work people.

Is the working-age population less healthy since the pandemic? What role is changing health playing in rising health-related benefit claims?