New report warns of post-Brexit risks to Wales’ health & well-being
Shocking evidence of inequality in Welsh society forms the basis of a new report highlighting risks to health and well-being in a post-pandemic, post-Brexit Wales.
Public Health Wales published the report this week which details the importance of understanding how Brexit will impact those living in, or at risk of poverty.
The report draws together some devastating evidence on the effect of social and economic hardship on Welsh people, including the fact that Wales has one of the highest in-work poverty rates in the UK, with one in seven workers living below the breadline.
It found that around 180,000 children are living in poorer households in Wales, with seven in ten children living in working households which are experiencing relative income poverty, and more than a quarter of Welsh households did not have enough savings to cover their regular income for just one month.
The report, “Brexit and poverty in Wales: A public health lens,” warns that individuals and families who are on a low-income, unemployed, or those with little in the way of savings or financial resilience, are at greatest risk.
It focuses on five key areas where people will most likely feel the effects of Brexit, including employment and skills, public services, and food security.
While there maybe increased employment opportunities in some sectors for younger people due to changes in the workforce, Brexit could impact other sectors and businesses which have been less affected by the pandemic.
The changes to immigration rules may impact staffing levels in health and social care adding long term pressure to the vital support mechanisms for the most disadvantaged communities.
Supply chain difficulties and any increase in the price of food will hit those on lower incomes the most and affect their ability to buy good quality, nutritional food.
Uncertainty
In addition to individual financial concerns caused by job insecurity or fluctuating income, the loss of EU structural funding could significantly impact some communities and vulnerable groups in Wales.
There is ongoing uncertainty about whether the UK Levelling Up Fund or the Shared Prosperity Fund will match previous investment in some parts of Wales.
Dr Sumina Azam, Consultant in Public Health, at Public Health Wales, said:
“The purpose of this report is to identify the potential risks and opportunities, and identify actions to help Wales prepare for, and respond to the impacts of Brexit and future trade agreements.
“This should be seen as our opportunity to address inequalities in health and wellbeing in Wales and work towards creating a fairer society for all.
“For example, it’s important we identify communities who are most affected by loss of EU funding and target future funding at those most impacted and strengthen our understanding of the links between trade and health, so that we better understand what the effects of future trade agreements will be for our communities.
“We can also work to enhance the role of our public services, which support our most vulnerable communities and populations, and have a key role in supporting the wider community in which they are based, through the employment of local staff, or through contributing to the local economy.”
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I voted to stay in the EU, and so did the Pontypridd constituency and the capital of Cardiff. Brexit has been a total disaster and a despicable lying scam – I hold to account Johnson the serial fibber and all his sniggering, catcalling Tory bastards who are no doubt rubbing their pudgy, sweaty paws in the lucrative prospect of grabbing millions off the Welsh citizens. It can only be Independence for Wales NOW.
The older welsh people have let wales badly we was getting £650 million pounds from the EU for wales 🏴 now we are getting only £250 million pounds from the English government stop being little Englanders and and be proud to be welsh it’s time for a new wales 🏴
Well said sir. Nice truth clearly stated.
I disagree with you profoundly in this. Brexit has caused divisions and tensions – that is never a good step. European citizenship has been lost and Welsh people can no longer move freely within the EU, can no longer receive the same medical support as citizens of a member country if taken ill there; young people no longer benefit from the Erasmus scheme; Welsh people can no longer seek assistance from another EU embassy if in trouble in a country where there is no UK embassy; Wales can no longer receive European grants for infrastructure and agriculture etc. Also Westminster… Read more »
When it comes to the enforcement of issues related to human rights, the UK is still bound by the European Convention on Human Rights, which has nothing whatsoever to do with the EU, and indeed is an institution older than the EU, even in its origins as part of the Council of Europe. The Council of Europe, set up in the aftermath of WW2, largely at the behest of Churchill who wanted to ensure that never again could a regime in any nation signatory to the convention abuse humans and deny their rights in ways that had occurred in Germany… Read more »
I will just echo a comment someone else made, what chance have we with a PM who has never in his life paid his way and a billionaire Chancellor who has no concept of social responsibility. Not to mention a machine in Westminster that siphons off tens of billions into offshore tax havens…no chance !
Brexit – what can you say eh? Common sense thrown out the window by a guy who looks like a dodgy car salesman in a pub and a serial lying opportunist. The poorest were always going to be hit the hardest and we in Wales are one of the poorest communities in Europe. The one good thing that will come out of the mess we are beginning to see now is it will lead to our independence quicker.