Calls have been made in the London Assembly for the Mayor to establish a Wellbeing Commissioner in order to help address the impact poor mental health is having on employment and economic inactivity rates in London.
Recent figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) have revealed that 2.5 million people across the UK are currently not working due to long-term sickness. In 2021, the figure for London was over 240,000 people.
Another Labour Force Survey has shown that the largest relative increases in economic inactivity due to long-term sickness between 2019 and 2022 were among those aged 16 to 24 and those aged 25 to 34. There was a 29% increase in economic inactivity among those aged 16 to 24 and a 42% increase among those aged 25 to 34 years.
Among these age groups, the largest overall increase in people with long-term sickness was due to mental illness, which rose by around 20,000 (a 24% increase).
The trend has prompted Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member Hina Bokahri to call on the Mayor to establish a Wellbeing Commissioner to champion improved mental health across the capital.
Her calls were backed by the Director of Public Policy Research at the Institute for Employment Studies (IES), who stated having a champion for mental health in London would be highly valuable and help bridge any disconnects between employers and employees and support for mental health. Alex Conway, Assistant Director for Economic Development and Performance at the GLA also agreed the idea was worth exploring further.
According to the London Assembly Liberal Democrats, a Wellbeing Commissioner would look at the challenges in accessing mental health services across London, the issues causing poor mental health and contributing to barriers to entering the workforce and working with the private and public sectors to promote best practice in supporting good employee mental health.
Commenting Hina Bokhari AM said:
“Over the last few years, there has been increasing evidence that poor mental health is contributing to economic inactivity rates across the country. This is especially true in younger sections of the population who are economically inactive due to sickness.
“This presents a particular problem for London, which has a higher proportion of young people than other parts of the UK and contains many young people working in high-pressure careers that can often lead to burnout and poor mental health.
“A Well Being Commissioner would be able to help identify the factors in London contributing to poor mental health and work cross-sector to find solutions and ensure both public and private industry in our city is learning from best practice.
“It is vital the Mayor backs our calls on this and does all he can to support good mental health across London.”
