RBI: The UK Needs to Double Down on Health and Housing

As the latest edition of the Rebuilding Britain Index is released – and remains unchanged once again – we need to start asking tougher questions about how to address inequalities in health and wellbeing across the UK.

The RBI was established to measure the UK’s progress in levelling up on a quarterly basis, surveying 20,000 people annually and tracking social and economic progress across 52 measures, including Health and Social Care, Education, Housing, Jobs & Economic Prosperity, Environment, Energy, Transport and Digital.

It wasn’t all bad news this time, as the RBI shows that jobs and the economy are seeing continued improvement, as businesses get back on their feet after a rough couple of years. And yet, we have to remember that opportunities for work are only one aspect of a happy life…

How are we feeling?

How do we find out if people are feeling happy and satisfied in their lives? We ask them.?Across the UK, just 62% of people say they feel satisfied with their lives, while only 61% told us that they feel happy.

While these reflections on personal health and happiness did tend to vary slightly according to region, these differences were not significant enough for geography to be a defining factor (a low 58% in the North East and high 65% in Wales and the South West).?It’s not where you live, but how you live.

When it comes to lifestyle, personal choice naturally is a big part of the equation. But we cannot underestimate the impact of housing and infrastructure in empowering people to live their best lives. Higher income earners and home owners are significantly happier and more satisfied with their lives than those earning the lowest incomes. Indeed, the findings shows a similar relationship across housing, transport, health, education, built environment and digital.

Boosting the UK’s health and happiness as a priority

Those who have better access tend to be happier and take better care of themselves – and the reverse is also true. As 38% report feeling dissatisfied with their lives, for those whose reality presents very real everyday challenges, breaking that cycle can be difficult. Quality of life really is everything.

So, what can the government and local authorities do to help soften these often quite sharp inequalities in health and wealth? All aspects of our index – from jobs & the economy and housing to education and digital – require targeted investment in order to narrow the gaps both in both health outcomes and in how people feel.

It has been two years since our government resolved to “level up every part of the UK”. Now, it has published its whitepaper detailing its vision for what that might look like. We are delighted to see an increased focus on health and wellbeing in this proposal, and will be closely monitoring how this unfolds in the coming months and years.

Our Group CEO Sir Nigel Wilson reflects on what has shifted with this latest version of the RBI:

“For the first time since the inception of the Rebuilding Britain Index we now have a sense from Government on what they mean by levelling-up the UK and how they intend to measure progress. The measures closely resemble those used within our own index, though also include long-term aspirational measures around happiness, life satisfaction, place satisfaction and levels of anxiety.”

We have no chance of improving health outcomes for our people unless we improve local infrastructure – and this goes beyond simply improving access to high quality community health centres, GP practices or hospitals. It also includes high-quality housing, affordable energy bills, accessing fulfilling and motivating forms of employment, and accessing healthy amenities such as sports centres and gyms.

As a business, our mission is clear. We are calling for targeted investment across the entire range of economic and built infrastructure in order to narrow the gaps both in both health outcomes and in how people feel. Only through well-thought-out, conscious investment can we help improve people’s circumstances, outlooks – and overall health.

After all that has happened over the past two years, it is our responsibility to do so.