Ben Wealthy

2022 will be a complex one for public health policy - three defining themes standout. First, COVID-19 remains a significant public health threat. We are in a transition period, edging tentatively towards a settled ‘business as usual’ approach. It is wise to ignore the loudest voices, those seeking to frame ‘living with COVID’ in terms of either strict lockdowns or letting the virus rip. There is a third path which politicians, public health professionals and the public can support. What this looks like – in terms of measures and messages - has yet to be adequately defined (perhaps a small unit in the Cabinet Office is currently ruminating over the next roadmap ‘Beyond Plan B’ or ‘Living with COVID…still’).   The public inquiry offers the chance to take a step back and consider how policy-making can improve in the future. For me, some key areas are a must for scrutiny and deliberation – the government’s approach to and implementation of stakeholder relations, the process of rapi...

I recently returned from a COVID-secure holiday (as far as is possible) to Scotland. Preventative measures included: a private cabin on a sleeper train from London to Inverness, staying in a ‘pod’ on the Isle of Skye, eating lots of salmon (aids physical distancing), travelling by ferry (on deck) and walking and cycling (huge thanks to Andy Bike ) around North Uist (recently made famous by the Channel 4 documentary The Scottish Island that Won the Lottery ) which has a world-beating natural ventilation system (the wind) and where you are more likely to come into contact with a lamb or a loch than a human. International travel is unlikely to take off over the summer months. We all have a unique opportunity to explore Britain’s stunning coastline, countryside and cities in a safe and respectful way. This will provide a lifeline to the tourism and hospitality sectors and remind us of the adventures available closer to home. Enjoy it.  Of course, it would be naïve to romanticise the Hi...

“The ultimate hidden truth of the world is that it is something we make and could just as easily make differently.” David Graeber   To coin a phrase from Professor Sir Michael Marmot, why treat COVID-19 and send people back to the conditions that made them more susceptible to it in the first place? Why indeed.   In the early stages, celebrities clambering to narrate the emerging devastation described the virus as “the great equaliser.” Madonna opted to provide her epidemiological commentary in the nude from inside a bath filled with rose petals. Clumsy attempts to encourage a mood of unity revealed a lack of understanding of, or interest in, our tragically unequal age and the consequences for individuals, society, and the economy.   Perhaps over the last year, through the pain of the pandemic, we have become more familiar with the characteristics of our country. We can hope. The story of a new virus chimes with an old story of health inequalities more broadly. The most di...

I am hoping to write some micro blogs over the coming weeks.  Two rules: I must produce them in no more than fifteen minutes and they must raise more questions than answers.   Expectation management done; here is attempt number one. The future is already being written. I was struck today, as many were, by the announcement on free school meals from the Government: “the voucher scheme will not run over the summer.” This is a small amount of money. If children cannot eat, they cannot learn. Simple. From 2010, there were lots of cuts. Few now doubt the damage it has done. The biggest mistake would be to start the public inquiry into the handling of COVID-19 from when it was first identified in China late last year. The starting point is closer to 2010 than 2010. So, I have three main reflections. Firstly, the policy agenda for the next decade is taking shape. There has been a tendency to separate response and recovery into different phases: they are two sides of ...

I am one of the 48%. In my hometown of Harrow remain won (55 to 45). I remain a remainer. The culture of bullying and name-calling (remoaners etc) targeted at those who continue - as a point of principle - to support EU membership represents some of the worst aspects of our country's political DNA. It is important to be humble in victory, as well as defeat. Whilst I accept the referendum result, I do not accept the rewriting of history which suggests it was in any respect a categorical result with clear implications.  17,410,742 votes compared to 16,141,241 was - and is - close. And reducing a complex issue with a million little issues inside it into a binary choice of yes or no was a foolish and irresponsible decision by David Cameron.  Brexit and what it means - should mean- is contestable and should be contested. I have a further, big concern though. Aside from the overwhelming cultural, economic and political case for being inside the European Union I have always fea...

I have to confess to not being a regular follower of the work of the Centre for Economics and Business Research - hence the reason I am writing a blog about a report they published in December 2014. I have clearly been missing out. But, we'll get to that in a bit.  This week has been one of those weeks when you are fully alive to the frustration and futility of being a commuter in London. Hours spent uncomfortably lodged under someone's armpit listening to [insert most despised music]. Your book unreadable whilst stuck to your face. Delays to reach further delays. Arriving at work (almost on time) looking as dischevelled as you had imaged appearing by clocking off o'clock. Repeat.  On Thursday an announcer at my local station in Metroland - a paradise constructed on the dream of living both the urban and suburban dream at once - proceeded to list the various chaos, cancellations and catastrophes of the morning. He ended with 'all other lines are running normally...

The former Conservative Chancellor Nigel Lawson once described the NHS as the closest thing we have to a national religion. A phrase that suggested he had, at least part of, his finger on the pulse of the nation. Polling consistently puts the NHS top of our concerns. Forged in the penniless post-war years it has survived and thrived in the rockiest economic storms since. Today our health and social care system has a Titanic-sized financial hole. The combined deficits of NHS trusts have reached £1.6bn this year. A sea brimming with icebergs has forced NHS Captain Simon Stevens to send out a Mayday call with 'five tests' that the Comprehensive Spending Review must meet to guarantee the NHS's modest plans . Will the Government plug the leak or sink services? On public health, the Government has already confirmed in-year cuts of £200m for local authorities - somewhat departing from the commitment to a "radical upgrade in prevention and public health." N...