Cutting social welfare in UK could cost lives, experts warn

Daily Mail, By DAILY MAIL REPORTER, 25th June 2010

Recent cuts to social welfare spending could cost lives, British experts warned today.

Researchers from Oxford University analysed levels of social spending throughout Europe and its impact on risks of death.

They found that just a £70 reduction in welfare spending per person is associated with a 2.8 per cent rise in alcohol-related deaths and 1.2 per cent rise in deaths from heart disease.

Writing in the British Medical Journal, the UK researchers argue that, although the Government may think they are protecting health by safeguarding healthcare budgets, social welfare is just as important to population health.

A study in the BMJ has revealed that a £70 reduction in welfare spending per person is linked with a 2.8 per cent rise in alcohol-related death

The researchers wrote: 'This report reveals that ordinary people may be paying the ultimate price for budget cuts - potentially costing them their lives.'

The study comes after the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, announced sweeping budget cuts, including reductions in tax credits for families, housing benefit and maternity grants.

The researchers evaluated data on social welfare spending in 15 European countries, including the UK, from 1980 to 2005. They found that when social spending was high, mortality rates fell, but when they were low, mortality rates rose substantially.

They found that even modest budget cuts had an effect. For every £70 drop in spending per person there was a 1.19 per cent rise in overall deaths.

However, they discovered that reducing spending on non-welfare sources such as on prisons, had no such negative impact on public health.

'This result indicates that some aspects of population health are sensitive to spending on social support,' the authors said.

'If we want to promote a sustainable recovery in Britain, we must first ensure that we have taken care of people's most basic health needs.'