The Board will receive a presentation from the Director of Public Health on her independent annual report, focusing on the relationship between health and employment
Minutes:
The Director of Public Health provided a presentation on her independent annual report, which focussed on the relationship between health and employment.
The presentation highlighted that most adults will spend a large proportion of their lifetime in the work environment and what they do at work helps to define who they are, where they live and how well they live.
The population is ageing and working lives are lengthening and so the relationship between work and health becomes more important, not only for individuals but also for local businesses and public services.
The presentation provided an insight to:
· The positive impact which ‘good work’ can have on a person’s health and wellbeing
· Barriers to accessing employment and the importance of support
· The negative impact of being out of work
· A snapshot of the health of the working age population and the impact which certain conditions can have. This included Musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions which remain as one of the most significant barriers to employment and a high cause of sickness absence
· Mental health at work, the impact of working days lost and the role which employers have to play in improving mental health
· Understanding current economic activity and the difference between:
o Economically active -
Employed : People over 16 and over who did one hour or more of paid work per week and those who had a job that they were temporarily away from (e.g. off sick or on holiday
Unemployed: People ages 16 years + without a job, who have been actively seeing work in the past four weeks and are available to start work in the next 2 weeks
o Economically inactive -
Categorised as people aged 16 + not in employment who have not sought work within the last 4 weeks and/ or are not available to start workwithin the next 2 weeks
· Employment statistics within North Tyneside which do not always provide detail of the quality or quantity of the employment and also the difficulties in obtaining data to get a complete picture of those who are in employment with work-limiting conditions
· Supporting employees with health conditions to be able to stay in work
· The effects of unemployment and the areas across North Tyneside which have higher rates of unemployment
· The importance of helping people to find good work and stay in work and the work which is taking place to support residents to achieve this, being locally developed and driven through the Working Well programme
· The importance of supporting young people and building confidence around career options and employment, particularly to those who are care experienced young people, those with disabilities, or may have neurodiversity or mental health conditions
· Economic inactivity with long-term sickness being a key barrier to employment/economic inactivity within North Tyneside
· Maximising potential and enabling people to work up to and beyond retirement
· The role of anchor institutions and how assets and resources can be used to influence and invest in the health and wellbeing of the local community
The annual report demonstrated not only the challenges faced but also the excellent work which is being undertaken. The Board were asked to consider what more could be done to make sure that people benefit from good work, not just now, but also in the future. The Director of Public Health Annual Report will be published on the Council website in November 2024.
Discussion included:
The responsibility of the corporate parenting role for children who are looked after, and the possibility of exploring links to anchor institutions
Support for employers around staff on long term sick, particularly smaller employers who may not have the knowledge of how to tackle this problem
An opportunity for the Business Forum to support with HR issues, health and wellbeing and skills development
Possible opportunities for the Care to Work Partnership to look at how support can be provided to individuals
On behalf of the Board, the Chair thanked the Director of Public Health and acknowledged the challenges and successes reported. Members of the Board reiterated these thanks and the importance of collaboration.
RESVOLED That the annual report be noted