Health Works: A Review of the Scottish Government's Healthy Working Lives Strategy

04 February 2010

Ill-health in the working-age population has been estimated to cost the British economy £100 billion a year in lost productivity, lost tax and increased health and welfare costs. There is a clear, growing body of evidence to show that improving the health and wellbeing of the working-age population of Scotland will increase sustainable economic growth, particularly through improved business productivity.

The approach of the Health Works actions is to ensure that health is not a barrier to work for as many people as possible, so that they can contribute to, and share in, the economic prosperity of Scotland. The review has been carried out in the context of Dame Carol Black's review of the health of Britain's working-age population.

The report is available at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2009/12/11095000/0