Study reports a huge increase in the number of people not working because of long-term sickness

Up to 2.6m people – or one in 16 of those aged between 16 and 64 - are currently “economically inactive” due to long-term sickness, according to statistics analysed by the Society of Occupational Medicine (SOM). The study has also found women are increasingly affected more than men: the number of women who are out of work because of long-term sickness has risen by just over a quarter since Covid lockdowns to 1,438,000. Among men, the figure has risen by a fifth to 1,166,000. Both figures mark record highs. The research, which was first reported by the Press Association, also highlighted how young men are increasingly struggling to find their feet in the labour market, with a spike in 16 to 24-year-olds who are unemployed but not looking for a job, a situation the SOM attributes to a surge in mental health issues for people in this age group, whose education was impacted by the pandemic. Other factors attributed to the increase include an ageing population; high rates of obesity and alcohol consumption; a legacy of smoking and long-term physical and mental health problems; and pressure on the NHS. A record 7.68m people in England were awaiting routine hospital treatment in July. Those unable to work from home especially likely to have a health issue which causes them to leave the workplace and/or prevents them from holding down a job, the SOM says. In total, more than 11m people live with long-term health conditions, of whom 7.4m (66%) are employed. Of those with mental health conditions, only 52% are employed.

Britain is about to sign its sixth trade agreement with a US state. Industry and economic security minister Nusrat Ghani is due to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Washington state, which is home to major US companies including Amazon, Starbucks, Microsoft and Boeing. The aerospace sector is said to be a priority under the pact. Britain has been focusing on smaller state-by-state agreements since the very likely prospect of a transatlantic deal was kicked into the long grass when former US president Donald Trump was defeated in the election by President Joe Biden. However, the six smaller agreements alone provide access to a combined marketplace worth £2tn, according to the Department for Business and Trade. The other states are Indiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Oklahoma and Utah. The Government is also seeking closer ties with Florida, Texas, California, Colorado and Illinois.

A report in The Telegraph today quotes businesses including Iceland and Burger King, who are accusing gas and electricity suppliers of profiteering and discrimination because they charge “sky-high” fees to secure energy contracts, while also unfairly keeping hold of security deposits worth hundreds of thousands of pounds. Both firms have lodged complaints with sector regulator Ofgem as part of its investigation into “poor conduct” by energy firms, launched earlier this year. Iceland, which has more than 500 stores across the UK and relies heavily on energy due to its vast number of fridges and freezers, said: “Suppliers are attempting to remove every element of risk from their business by passing it directly onto their customers. The customers then have no option but to pass these costs on where they can or absorb them. The first option fuels the cost of living crisis and the second could see many businesses fail.” On the withholding of security deposits, Iceland said: “Having chased this with the supplier every day for the past 2 months, there is still no confirmation of when this money will be returned.” Meanwhile, Burger King criticised the energy sector for a “lack of willingness of suppliers to submit a quote or offer for our business,” saying it was only able to find two suppliers to provide its gas supply. Other more serious claims were made by smaller firms and organisations, the newspaper says, saying that, for example, energy brokerage Utility Aid reported that some of their clients had been cut off from suppliers “due to being non-profits”. This concern was echoed by Business Energy Direct: “Many suppliers continue to refuse to offer contracts to certain sectors. Unduly onerous prices are evidence across the entire industry and customers continue to be charged at much higher prices than any supplier can justify.” Damon Parker, senior partner at Harcus Parker, a City law firm pursuing a £2bn claim against suppliers for allegedly overcharging business customers, said: “The evidence presented to Ofgem by energy consumers is damning. Business customers are being ripped off every day”. An Ofgem spokesman said: “These initial views were in response to an early stage of our biggest deep-dive into the non-domestic energy market. Since then we’ve received more up-to-date responses to proposals we published in July, with positive feedback from consumer groups. We are carefully considering all the responses we have received”.

A top Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) official has taken aim at the press for creating a negative “atmosphere” for business in the UK and discouraging firms from floating in London, Bloomberg reports. While speaking at the City & Financial Conference yesterday, Clare Cole, director of market oversight at the FCA, said journalists should do more to boost the environment for businesses in the UK, saying they are “very negative about our entrepreneurs and our listed issuers”. She also argued they needed to think more about “the atmosphere we create for companies here.” City AM says top figures in the City are increasingly pushing back against what they see as an overly negative press narrative in London. In an interview with the newspaper earlier this month, London Stock Exchange chief Julia Hoggett criticised the media coverage of London’s capital markets slowdown, saying: “We live in a country of the free press – the media’s got a right to report what they want to report, but I think it’s fair to say that quite often the context is missing”.  Another report earlier in the year from industry body UK Finance found the “perception of the approach and attitude of the media had an oversized influence when considering whether to join the UK markets”. Some firms questioned for the report said their approach was to join the UK in ‘stealth mode’ to “avoid the news cycle and potential negative public sentiment.

Water companies in England and Wales will have to return £114m to customers next year after missing performance targets on leakage and sewage spills, industry watchdog Ofwat has confirmed in its annual water company performance report. The majority of water and wastewater companies were underperforming on targets set for 2020-25 to deliver better outcomes, Ofwat said, with fewer than half of companies achieving their performance target last year on reducing pollution incidents, or meeting their performance commitment on leakage. Ofwat failed to give any water supplier a ‘leading’ ranking; ten firms fell into the ‘average’ category, while seven were labelled as ‘lagging.’ These included Thames Water, the UK’s largest supplier, which was the worst affected by Ofwat’s ruling: it was hit with a penalty of more than £100m for the latest financial year. The other six were Anglian Water, Bristol Water, Dŵr Cymru, South East Water, Southern Water and Yorkshire Water. Ofwat CEO David Black said that while he recognised the rebates “may be welcome to bill payers, it is very disappointing news for all who want to see the sector do better".

Nissan has vowed to keep to its all-electric targets in the UK and Europe, saying it will achieve that goal by 2030, regardless of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s delay to a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars to 2-35.  Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida reiterated the Japanese giant’s EV timeframe yesterday, while unveiling its latest battery-powered car design. “Nissan will make the switch to full electric by 2030 in Europe – we believe it is the right thing to do for our business, our customers and for the planet,” he said., adding: “More than a million customers have already joined our journey and experienced the fun of a Nissan electric vehicle, and there is no turning back now.” Nissan employs more than 7,000 staff across the UK at three sites, including its flagship factory in Sunderland, which accounts for 6,000 employees.

Airbus is hoping the Ministry of Defence (MoD) chooses it to build a new generation of helicopters to replace the UK’s ageing fleet of Pumas, meaning it will open Britain’s first new helicopter factory in decades. If successful with its tender, more than 1,100 new jobs will be created, thereby increasing the world's biggest producer of commercial airliners' 11,500-strong UK workforce by almost 10%. Airbus contributed £7bn to the UK economy last year, supported 79,000 jobs in the wider aerospace and defence sectors, and spent almost £4bn with British suppliers. The potential new helicopter production line would be established at its vast wing manufacturing plant in Broughton, North Wales.

Aviva has agreed to buy AIG's UK life insurance business, AIG Life UK for £460m. The FTSE 100 insurer told investors yesterday that this is the largest acquisition to date under CEO Amanda Blanc, and that it would drive “significant strategic and financial benefits”. The transaction will add 1.3m individual protection customers and 1.4m group protection members, Aviva said, with the deal expected to close in the first half of 2024, subject to regulatory approvals. AIG Life UK is owned currently by Corebridge Financial, a New York-listed company majority-owned by AIG.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) says the world will need to invest $4.5trn (£3.7trn) a year from the start of the next decade if it is to reach net zero by 2050. The Paris-based organisation also said that record growth in clean energy technology, including solar panels and electric vehicles, means it is still “possible” to limit rises in global temperatures to 1.5C, but spending will need to increase on the $1.8trn (£1.5trn) that world governments and organisations are expected to spend in 2023. The update to the IEA’s Net Zero Roadmap said that the world needs to triple global renewable capacity, double energy efficient infrastructure, increase heat pump sales and increase EV use by 2030.