News & Events

ONS and Business for Health partner to enhance the ONS Health Index

31 July 2024

Business for Health is working with the Office for National Statistics to develop the next iteration of the ONS Health Index, as a tool that supports businesses, local authorities, Integrated Care Boards, and government on decisions to ‘invest for health and economic growth’ and informs Treasury on the economic case for prevention.

The ONS Health Index, last published in summer 2023, measures health in its broadest terms and seeks to understand how it is changing over time. It tracks health in clinical terms (i.e. the prevalence of certain conditions), but also looks at the wider social, economic and environmental drivers of health, together with personal circumstances. 

Building on these measures, the enhanced ONS Health Index will include additional data and tools relevant to businesses and their practices. These could range from capturing direct health impacts on employees and customers, to environmental impacts of a company’s products. This will increase the understanding of the interplay between health and business and work life and fill an important evidence gap. For example, it could be used at a local level to help measure corporate progress against key health and wellbeing aims. More broadly, the additional business themed metrics will inform strategies around the link between health and wellbeing and workforce productivity, and the role of health within the Environmental Social and Governance discussion.

Business for Health, a business-led social venture, in collaboration with Lane Clark & Peacock (LCP), have identified demand from businesses and organisations for the continuation and enhancement of this tool to define their role in the economy and wider society.

They will engage with businesses to develop the next iteration of the Index that provides high-value data on the health and well-being of the nation, including the workforce. One of the key goals will be to encourage businesses to understand and take responsibility for their impacts on health. To this end, the next iteration of the ONS Health Index will seek to bring businesses into its core audiences and provide health-relevant data to the public that measures the impact of businesses on population health.

These additional data will aim to highlight key determinants influencing employee health, and in doing so inform business decision-making and support organisational and corporate culture with health at its core. 

With the UK’s general population currently facing significant health challenges, leading to long term economic inactivity and pressures on the health system, the enhancement of the ONS Health Index will enable focus on facilitating system change to improve health and wealth outcomes. This is vital for enhancing the health and economic resilience of the nation.

Tina Woods, CEO and Founder of Business for Health said: “There is a clear need from businesses to receive better data on the role of health within wider workforce planning. The link between corporate culture and individuals’ physical and mental wellbeing is irrefutable and our role on the new ONS Health Index will act as a crucial tool in understanding how businesses can improve, report and measure their impact on health linked to economic growth.”

Lord Bethell, Former Health and Innovation Minister and Chair of Business for Health, said: “We are delighted to be working with the ONS and LCP to develop the next iteration of the ONS Health Index, which will differentiate itself by allowing companies to understand and define their social purpose alongside measuring their economic contribution.”

Jonathan Pearson Stuttard, Head of Health Analytics at LCP, said: “There is a need for employers, businesses and industry partners to work collaboratively with the Government to ensure that long-term health challenges are tackled with the urgency that is required.” 

Dr James Tucker, Deputy Director of Health, International and Partnerships, Office for National Statistics said: “The importance of high-quality data to inform strategies and reporting on the health of our workforce is crucial. Working with businesses as core users of the next ONS Health Index will be key in accessing granular data from businesses to feed into the index and provide relevant health data.”

Background on ONS Health Index

Office for National Statistics

The Office for National Statistics is the UK's largest independent producer of official statistics and the recognised national statistical institute of the UK.

The ONS Health Index in its original form was structured as a measure of the health of the nation which measures health as an asset in three key areas: 1) Healthy People 2) Healthy Lives and 3) Healthy Places.  It uses a broad definition of health, including health outcomes; health-related behaviours and personal circumstances and; wider drivers of health that relate to the places where people live.   It was developed with consideration of Sir Michael Marmot’s review and Marmot beacon indicators.

The Health Index provides a single value for health that can show how health changes over time. It can also be broken down to focus on specific topics to show the factors that influence these changes.

The ONS Secure Research Service (SRS) gives accredited or approved researchers secure access to de-identified, unpublished data to work on research projects for the public good. We know that many people rely on access to the SRS for research, to support rapid policy analysis and complete wider research.

Building on the success of the SRS, the Integrated Data Service (IDS) is a government-wide initiative to create a step change in the way data about our society and economy are made available for vital research and decision making in the UK.

A key enabler of the Government’s National Data Strategy and modernisation agenda, the IDS provides access to datasets from a range of sources, across government departments and devolved administrations, presented alongside analytical tools in a secure multi-cloud infrastructure.

The IDS is a cross-government service, with the ONS acting as the lead delivery partner. The service is designed for use by government analysts, devolved administrations, and external accredited researchers, and is optimised for government use.

B4H Response to Spring Budget

7 March 2024

The Spring Budget’s key messages were around lowering taxes, increasing productivity and making work pay to grow the economy.

 Key headline points are: 

• National Insurance, a payroll tax, cut by 2p in the pound for employees and the self-employed

• Child benefit was increased to make ti easier for families to work: Full child benefits to be paid to households where highest-earning parent earns up to £60,000 - the current limit is £50,000

• NHS budget to go up £2.5bn next year; the service will also get £3.4bn up to 2030 to improve productivity- aiming to be a lead exemplar for other public departments on how to improve productivity

 Business for Health (B4H)  is disappointed there were no references or new measures announced to tackle poor health that is at the root of the current crisis of workforce inactivity and lacklustre productivity driving lower tax receipts and increased welfare costs creating a drag on economic growth.

There were no new measures to incentivise the contribution of business to workplace health and the government response to the recent Occupational Health Consultation is eagerly awaited.  B4H would have liked to see proactive tax incentives to help SMEs engage with employee wellness, such as making health and wellbeing-related benefits in-kind tax-free, as well as steps to reform Statutory Sick Pay and facilitate occupational and vocational rehabilitation to enable employees to return to work quicker.  

While investment in digital infrastructure is welcome for the NHS to modernise, increase efficiency and productivity, and facilitate better data sharing and use of the NHS app, there were no creative ideas beyond this. There was no mention of how this could join up NHS and health activity with DWP activity in localities,  promoting key partnerships and enabling local employers, businesses and communities to play a leading role in the health of their communities.  This is a missed opportunity.

Given the clear connection between investment, high-quality jobs and health, there were some welcome developments to promote investment and jobs in regions with new Levelling Up projects and other initiatives including pension reforms and the new British ISA to encourage more people to invest in UK assets, including the technology sector to become the next ‘Silicon Valley’.    However, despite this, more needs to be done to mobilise the force of business to ‘invest in health’ as a national asset.

Launch of ‘Rebooting the Nation’s Health Through the Workplace’

14 November 2023

Former Health Minister Lord Bethell joins Business for Health

29 June 2023

Former Health Minister, Lord Bethell has been appointed to the Strategic Advisory Board of community interest company, Business for Health.  

The former government minister, who was responsible for Innovation in the Department for Health and Social Care during the COVID-19 pandemic will work with Business for Health on its long-term strategy of improving the health of the nation.

Lord Bethell will work with the board and executive team on the preventative health agenda, highlighting and addressing some of the major health challenges facing the nation including the obesity epidemic and long-term illness that is creating a drag on workforce productivity and overall economic performance and societal resilience.

Speaking of his appointment, Lord Bethell said: “I am delighted to have joined the Business for Health board at such a critical time for the long-term health and productivity of the nation.   

“Business for Health has grown to become a pre-eminent independent voice in health and wellbeing within the business community and wider society, offering incisive analysis and action on some of the biggest healthcare issues facing the country. I am looking forward to seeing it flourish further and supporting its progress to influence and change conversations, policy and practice.”

Tina Woods, CEO and Co-Founder of Business for Health said: “At Business for Health we are hugely looking forward to working with Lord Bethell.  He has a deep passion for the preventative health agenda who will bring a deep understanding of the health and care sector and how we can harness industry, science and technology to change the trajectory of health in a system change approach.”

John Godfrey, Chair & Co-Founder of Business for Health said: “We are really excited to have appointed James Bethell onto our Strategic Advisory Board to help us on our strategy for promoting a healthier workforce and ensuring that health becomes a vital component of the ESG agenda. Lord Bethell will play a critical role in shaping our engagement with businesses and government.”

Launch of Year On Report

25 April 2023

Business for Health Spring Budget Statement

15 March 2023

Business for Health welcomes the announcements made in the Spring Budget to encourage people back to work and address long-term sickness which have impacted recent rises in economic inactivity.

The time is now. Workforce inactivity is creating a serious drag on the British economy, costing the UK £180bn a year according to the CBI, and business has a key role to play in addressing this given its contribution to over 60% of the economy.

It is in businesses’ own interests to help people stay in work and deliver greater productivity through better health.  We welcome the £400 million fund to increase the availability of mental health and musculoskeletal resources for workers, the new voluntary employment scheme for disabled people alongside the white paper published today on disability benefits, and the extra support being given to SMEs to help them deliver better occupational health services.   The extension of free childcare will also help more parents return to work.

The NHS is only part of the solution to improve the nation’s health and real success requires a broader coalition of interested parties working together.  We are encouraged that our Health Secretary embraces the potential for employers and businesses to form part of a preventative health agenda, including tackling obesity, to help stop people from developing long-term conditions. 

We note government’s plans to offer "returnships" for the over 50s who want to return to work and also the mid-life MOTs to prepare people for their retirement. However, this does not go far enough in addressing the trap of ill health that is driving the workforce inactivity problem. Also, the pension incentives announced to lure back and keep +50s in work do little to help the most vulnerable and socio-economically deprived groups most at risk of long-term sickness.

So, therefore, while steps in the right direction, they fall short to address the long-term health crisis we face.  Health outcomes won’t improve unless people seek and receive appropriate and timely support after receiving a negative MOT.  SMEs may struggle to provide the right type of health intervention especially when the reasons for ill health are linked to wider determinants of health and systemic inequalities.

This signals the need to go beyond the role of employers in traditional occupational health and more into long-term prevention and health creation; and with this explore the other crucial roles in enhancing health and reducing harm that businesses have as producers, marketeers and investors. 

Business needs to have a role in the health of its consumers. It is in the interests of businesses and their owners to deliver positive health outcomes which reduce the risk of poor outcomes, heavy-handed regulation and litigation. Dealing with obesity continues to be ignored- and highly processed, unhealthy food is fast becoming the next tobacco.

Finally, businesses and employers can also help make healthier places through what they do as investors and economic drivers in localities.  This also needs encouraging by government through the right blend of incentives and regulation, so we welcome the £63 million fund to support leisure centres, the announcement of 12 new investment zones to support innovation clusters, the £200 million injection for local regeneration projects and the £400 million being made available for new levelling up partnerships in areas like Redcar, Cleveland and Blackburn. 

Tina Woods, CEO & Co-Founder of Business for Health, comments:

“Our collective failure to reduce the demand on our health and care system stems from not addressing the wider determinants of our health and investing in preventative health.   This situation has reached crisis point at a steep economic cost, so I welcome today’s news.  While the Chancellor’s primary motivation might be to get the long-term sick and +50s back to work, any new initiatives in the occupational health space should be designed and measured by their impact on spotting health issues early, treating them in good time and ideally preventing them in the first place.  The Work Health Index launched last November with the CBI is a key tool in this shared endeavour to help the NHS improve care, reduce costs and clear the Covid backlog. The win for business is helping reduce sick days, absenteeism and lure and retain talent.”

John Godfrey, Levelling Up Director at L & G and Co-Founder and Chair of Business for Health, comments:

“Business has a huge role in enhancing and levelling up the health of the nation. Measures today alongside initiatives like the Work Health Index we launched with the CBI which benchmarks businesses’ health will help build a productive economy, linking health and wealth. At a time when many businesses are already struggling with rising costs, offering SMEs subsidies to introduce health appraisals and occupational health support is crucial to ensure no one is left behind. But we need to do more, by bringing in ‘Health’ into ESG and investing in long-term sustainable health and care infrastructure.  The government’s support for levelling up partnerships, regeneration projects and local transport are welcomed.” 

Nick Delany, CEO, HCML, Strategic Advisory Board Member, Business for Health, comments:

” Whilst welcome, these distinct and unconnected initiatives do not move us forward in terms of developing a holistic public policy to engage business in improving both current workforce health and as the current workforce then retires, also the health of our retired population. Such an approach would deliver huge socio-economic benefits for UK plc whilst at the same time greatly reducing the burden on an already over-stretched NHS.

Rebecca Brady, Medical, Director, HCML, Strategic Advisory Board Member, Business for Health, comments:

‘The efforts of the government to retain and allow the return-to-work of the older workforce are welcomed, not only to enhance the working lives of those individuals in the over-50s cohort, but also to support the younger generation with mentorship and support as they establish themselves in the world of work. However, given the significant burden of mental ill-health that we are seeing in the younger generation especially post-COVID, efforts should also be focussed to support younger people into work, just as the announcement regarding voluntary opportunities for people with disabilities does, so that the efforts of the government can be seen as sustainable over the generations to come.'

Matt Vardy, Interim CEO AXA Health, Strategic Advisory Board Member, Business for Health,’ comments:

“AXA Health welcomes the Chancellor’s focus on the impact ill health has on productivity and measures to address the leading causes of ill health related inactivity. Whilst we believe businesses will value the support outlined today, it does remain marginal in comparison to the scale of challenge of ill-health related economic inactivity.

Specifically on expanding the scheme to support SMEs to buy Occupational Health services, we are pleased that the Government has understood the critical role that businesses play in supporting the health of their employees and the impact this has on society more broadly. As an Occupational Health provider, we know it reduces sickness absence and the likelihood of employees dropping out of the workforce for health issues. We also look forward to submitting to the two consultations the Government will hold on Occupational Health tax incentives and coverage.  

However, we did recommend that the Government should introduce stronger incentives for businesses to support employee health and include all private medical insurance and health and wellbeing support services within scope. While support for Occupational Health is a positive step in the right direction, by not including any onwards treatment provision this announcement doesn’t go far enough to relieve the pressure on the NHS nor help increase the speed in which employees return to work.”  

Work Health Index Launch

CBI Conference 22 November 2022

We launched  the Work Health Index at the CBI conference on 22 November 2022 with a keynote by Amanda Pritchard, CEO of NHS.  Supported by NHS and Government, this tool, representing the first pillar of the three-pillar business framework for health, aims to help companies benchmark  their health and wellbeing provision to their workforce, ultimately aiming to improve health and wellbeing outcomes  to help reduce labour force inactivity and tackle record long-term sickness absence levels restricting the UK’s productivity and undermining economic growth ambitions.

Data shows the UK loses 131 million working days a year to ill-health, costing the nation around £180 billion in GDP.

We are hugely grateful to our partners AXA Health Legal & General Johnson & Johnson Holland & Barrett HCML Rehabilitation Solutions Centre for Ageing Better UK Research and Innovation Phoenix Insights, The Health Foundation for supporting our research framework and to our core working group chaired by Carol Brayne and over 35 experts.

Healthy Longevity Innovation Mission Launch

14 November 2022

In support of the new Life Sciences Mission announced by Health Minister Steve Barclay on 29 November, the Quantum Healthy Longevity Mission was launched during Longevity Week on 14 November with a keynote by Lord Bethell, former Science and Innovation Minister. Taking a transformational, exponential approach, and incubated within the National innovation Centre for Ageing, the mission leverages the latest science and technology to create the world’s leading test bed or living lab for health.  See the launch recording on YouTube here, presentation here and Lancet article here.  Some media coverage can be accessed in Technology.Longevity here and Lifespan.io here.  A write up the session can also be seen in the blog here by B4H associate parner Silver Marketing Association

Our Response to Levelling Up White Paper

2 February 2022

The long-awaited Levelling Up White Paper has been published.

 We are very pleased to see that the government manifesto commitment to deliver 5 extra years of healthy life expectancy by 2030 while minimising health inequalities (‘HLE +5’) has stood firm as a priority post-pandemic as the 7th mission of Levelling Up.

 However, we feel health could have taken a more central role given that the links between health and wealth have never been clearer.

 Delivering on this ambitious White Paper, including on the health goals, will require business engagement and Business for Health has a central role to play in this.

 Many questions remain on how to achieve the HLE + 5 mission, but Business for Health was set up in November 2020 to do just that: it was one of the recommendations in the Health of the Nation: a Strategy for Healthier Longer Lives launched in February 2020 by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Longevity which also published the follow-on report, Levelling up Health in April 2021.

 Our report, Business Framework for Health. Supporting businesses and employers in their role to enhance and level up the health of the nation, was published with the CBI in October 2021 and supported by Chris Whitty CMO.

 We are well underway with the research and evidence generation behind the Framework, leading eventually to an Index to measure and incentivise positive contributions to health by employers, businesses and investors, providing tools to bolster workforce health and productivity, aiming to bring ‘Health’ into ESG mandates and boosting community resilience with businesses as anchor intuitions.

 We are currently focussed on workforce health including how to support low-paid, front line workers, and will soon be looking at food system shaping to support the National Food Strategy recommendations.

Health is Wealth

With a keynote address by George Freeman MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State and Minister for Science, this event during Longevity Week 2021 presented an update on the levelling up health programme of the APPG for Longevity, sets out Business for Health’s plans to develop a Business Framework and Index and bring Health into ESG mandates, and launched the APPG’s Open Life Data Framework to drive innovation in healthy longevity, while offering an international perspective on multistakeholder collaboration in health for global prosperity.

Our Response to the Autumn Budget

27 October 2021- The 2021 Autumm budget is relying on unleashing the creativity and innovation of business to drive economic growth and recovery, focussed on higher skills, higher wages and higher productivity.

 It is investing heavily in science and innovation: including sizeable increases in R & D investment, aiming to grow from 0.7% to 1.1% of GDP by 2026/7 (higher than Germany, the OECD and USA), and unlocking the ability of pensions to invest directly into higher risk innovation areas.

 The budget should be commended for its focus on levelling up in communities through increased funding to local authorities and housing, as well as increases in the health capital budget and R & D. 

 Business for Health hopes that the growing investment in science, innovation and health R & D and infrastructure will be invested wisely in health improvement and levelling up health.

 To ‘build back better’ health needs to be seen as an asset to invest in, with long term returns measured by closing the gap in health inequalities, reducing demand on the health and care system, and growing health and wellbeing of populations with related increases in labour productivity and, ultimately, economic growth. 

 There is a missed opportunity to make more explicit the need to invest in reducing health inequalities in the hardest-hit communities given the clear connection between health and productivity, and ultimately economic recovery and growth: 30% of the productivity gap between the North and the rest of England is due to ill-health.

 In addition, given the increasing recognition of the role that employers could play in reducing the disease burden on or NHS and care system, especially in the area of mental health, chronic diseases and musculoskeletal conditions, more focus could have been given to support employee-led health interventions, such as mid-life MOTs and healthy eating and exercise in the workplace (especially the NHS and care workforce, the  5th largest workforce in the world, who could lead by example on the importance of healthy behaviours to keep well).

Business for Health Framework

Launched at CBI 18th October 09:30-11:00

Business and Levelling Up Health

Launch

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