Business leaders can lessen the damage of lockdowns.

As business leaders and people influencers we all need to look at where we can step up and step in to help those forgotten by lockdowns.

I have made no bones about being a lockdown sceptic, never a denier of the virus, but someone who is very concerned that powerful forces are at work for their own benefit and to influence those who we elect and pay to both protect and improve our interests. All the decisions are presently being made by people who aren’t financially or in most cases, even mentally, affected by lockdowns as their lives have changed very little. 

My main concern is our children, I am deeply worried for their future and wellbeing. It is the children who are paying a price that is now far too high. It is time we rethink lockdowns, as they clearly don’t work and the medicine is now very much worse than the disease.

It saddens me to see so many children cooped up, stuck on a zoom, unable to see friends, talk, laugh, smile, play sport, you know, just being kids. We were already seeing reports in news papers that our next generation are by far the unhappiest children ever, burdened with social media and life pressures that are way too heavy for their little shoulders and impressionable minds.

As the headline states, we have a child covid crisis. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/16/coalition-of-child-experts-urge-inquiry-into-uks-covid-crisis

My wife and I work very hard to keep our children active and engaged in learning, but I would be lying if I didn’t say that I have seen a personality change in all of them; quieter, more insular and with a new(not just teenage) lethargic approach to life in general. An almost ‘what’s the point!’ attitude. 

However, we do have a lovely home, a spacious garden and a laptop, with good broadband, for all three of my children. So in general terms, I’d say mine are up there with the most lucky ones.

For the las 20 years I have worked to deliver effective and efficient human capital solutions to schools across England, predominately in areas of deprivation and disadvantage. Many of the schools I now speak to on a weekly basis, tell me they have been out in the community taking food parcels to children who otherwise may not eat and calling those who they are most concerned about. The doors of all these schools are never shut to children at risk, but I am told that these numbers are starting to swell. 

When it became apparent that online learning was here to stay, I took my fortunate position and used the generosity of the amazing @rdlc to collate and donate over 1000 computers to children who did not have access to on online device.

A small step as business leaders to improve the lives of those worse affected and lessen the impact of lockdown.

Lockdowns don't just divide opinion, they also open a huge chasm between the rich and poor, at every level. At the same time as an additional 2.5 million British families were pushed into lockdown poverty, our gleeful billionaires have seen their wealth rise by 27% and their government influence seems to be up 2000%. 

The balance isn’t just off, it is now enforced poverty and so absolutely criminal; I for one don't want this on my hands.

Many wont know this, but life expectancy in the UK already differs by almost 19 years from the richest to the poorest areas. To put this into context, the poorest areas already see life expectancy at 20 years less than the average age of a covid death, so where will they end up in the future? Poverty kills even today. 

A recent white paper by Phillip Thomas, Professor of economics at Bristol university, estimated that the immense hit to our economy due to covid restrictions will result in an additional 560,000 future deaths, a number that is far higher than the 35,000 excess deaths due to lockdown already recorded in 2020 and more than the number of Brits killed in World War 2!

Unfortunately, it is not just education and finances that will cause a tidal wave of issues, as we are building up a tsunami, one that includes high levels of mental and psychical damage.

 The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health(RCPH) have now called for an urgent cross party review of children’s mental health Stating that we are in a 'child covid crisis'.

It is estimated that an additional 1.5 million under 18 year olds will need professional support and mental health intervention. Some mental health practitioners are already turning children away as they just don’t have any spare capacity. With nearly 15% of the entire adult population now on anti-depressant and 601,000 people still on the NHS waiting list for psychotherapy treatments, things are looking very bad indeed.

Mental health issues are a precursor too many things, not just the extremes such as suicide and self harm, but even mild issues deliver a significant weighting towards lower future income, poor health and a lack of social mobility. To make things worse for our children, this is being compounded further with their continued struggles within education, another key metric in social mobility and life chances. Primary school children are already reported to be on average, 9.3 months behind their peers in 2018. It may not sound like a longtime to an adult, but for a primary school child it is immense and it will be extremely hard to regain that ground and we know many never will.

An even harder to fathom fact and stat reported by the BMJ, is that there has been a 1500% increase in child abuse admissions to hospital during lockdown. Just think, these are only the children injured badly enough to be sent to hospital, so very many more than this are still at risk and being abused. 

Now I cant get anywhere near understanding what drives an adult to physically or mentally abuse a child, but to see such a dramatic rise in cases does mean that there are lots of adults who are on the edge and are now taking their troubles out on children. We’ve seen many news reports that drinking at home has sky rocketed, but so has drug use according to Forbes. Drug abuse has increased with users by 46% and there is a 24% increase in under 18s trying drugs for the first time. A very slippery slope that we know has severe social consequences.

These issues are not going to disappear when the government decides to give us back a few of our stolen liberties, or when our house arrest for the crime we didn’t commit is removed. The problems will last for decades and the longer we wait to stop the impact of these mad lockdowns, the worse it will become.

We have now delivered 7 x more vaccines and fully vaccinated 4 x more vulnerable people in the UK, than have died 'with' covid across the entire world. With a 99.7% survival rate and the fact that statistically anyone under 70 who is healthy, including children, are at far more risk from flu, tells us that we’ve come a very long way, but the maths for lockdown just doesn't add up.

Here is an easy to grasp, professional synopsis of why it doesn't add up. https://lockdownsceptics.org/covid-madness-and-no-end/

So as business leaders we need to start to plan how we can help now and once the restrictions are loosened.

On a personal note I recently signed up with Fig Tree international to help young adults from deprived and BAME backgrounds, to shadow a CEO/Executive leader and help break down perceived barriers and insecurities. 

My businesses are putting together a programme to help young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to break into recruitment earlier and at a pace that is enjoyable and manageable.

It is time to push back, to write to your MP, to tell your family and friends, that the lockdowns cant continue as the price for our young is just too high and that life for all must resume.

As business leaders we understand what it takes to be successful, no matter our background or education. We have learnt to fight the fight and swim against the tides of failure. So there has never been a better time to reach out to your local schools and colleges, your kickstart providers and charities, to see where you can help give a young person a leg up and inspire their future.

A little rant that I needed to air!!

D