Welfare system is a key public health measure

UK approach needs reconsideration to improve inequalities

Health, and health inequalities, are almost universally recognised to have substantial social determinants.1 2 Although the Conservative government’s 2022 levelling up white paper implied a causal role for economic inequality in health outcomes, policies implemented since 2010 have directly increased risk of destitution3 and ensured that an increasing proportion of the population rely on in-kind charity support services such as food banks4 that supplement state payments. Austerity measures to reduce access to, and real-terms generosity of, working age, disability, and childhood benefits have failed to increase growth or curtail rising debt5 but have contributed to widening health inequalities that increase pressure on the NHS.