DEPARTMENT FOR
INNOVATION, UNIVERSITIES AND SKILLS News Release (Foresight MCW
221008 final) issued by COI News Distribution Service. 22 October 2008
Proposals aimed at
helping society realise its mental potential at every stage of
peoples' lives are contained in a major new report published
today by Foresight, the Government's futures think tank.
The study into 'Mental Capital and Wellbeing' looks at
how a person's mental resources change through life, as a
child, adult and in old age, and identifies factors that can help
or hinder their development. The consequences are substantial for
individuals, wider society and the economy.
The report concludes that there is a clear case for action across
society including by Government, companies and individuals, to
boost both mental capital and wellbeing. This could reap very high
economic and social benefits in the future.
The report, sponsored by the Department for Innovation,
Universities and Skills (DIUS), outlines the findings of an
extensive two-year study involving over 400 leading international
experts in subjects ranging from neuroscience to economics.
The study defines mental capital as a person's cognitive and
emotional resources; how good they are at learning and their
"emotional intelligence" such as their social skills and
resilience in the face of stress. Mental wellbeing changes from
day to day and is linked to personal and social fulfilment.
Its main findings are that:
* Early intervention is crucial in developing and maintaining
mental capital and mental wellbeing - whether it's spotting
and treating learning difficulties in children and young people or
developing biomarkers to diagnose dementia earlier in older people;
* A small increase in levels of wellbeing can produce a large
decrease in mental health problems across people of all ages;
* There is substantial scope for improving how to tackle the huge
problem of mental-ill-health, which costs up to £77 billion a year
for England alone.
Professor John Beddington, the Government's Chief Scientific
Adviser and Director of the Foresight Programme, said:
"This report gives us new insights, based on cutting-edge
science, into the challenges ahead and how they might be
addressed. It contains a range of proposals for society and
Government to consider.
"There is good work being done but progress can be made and
taxpayers money saved if government departments work together more
effectively to tackle these issues.
"Investing to identify and tackle learning difficulties
early on and improving the take up of education and learning will
result in people getting better jobs. The report has shown that if
an individual is fulfilled in their work this positively affects
wellbeing, this in turn will see reduced expenditure on the
treatment of mental health problems.
"Acting now in a co-ordinated way is even more important as
the pressures on our society change - this is particularly
pertinent in the current climate. Competition from abroad and
uncertain economic times will drive people to work harder and
smarter. Both will result in increasing demands made on
individuals and the state".
John Denham, Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and
Skills, who is the report's Ministerial sponsor, said:
"I welcome this report which provides new insights and
creates fresh opportunities to offer support to individuals,
families and organisations in building and sustaining mental
capital and good mental health.
"Future prosperity and social justice in the UK will be
strengthened by drawing on the mental capital and talents of its
citizens and I am pleased this report recognises that the
Government is already on the right track in many areas.
"My own department is investing more in skills and training
than ever before to ensure our all of our people, young and old,
can make the most of their talents and abilities, increasing their
prosperity and improving their life chances and strengthen the
wider economy. And across Government we are driving through
reforms in education, health and business to support individuals,
their families and communities.
"A range of departments and organisations across Government
and more widely are committed to taking forward the project's
findings and I look forward to overseeing the progress of that
over the coming year."
Drawing on over 100 expert papers, the report identifies three
key areas which need to be tackled. These are learning in the
early years, wellbeing at work, and the ageing population. The
study highlights:
Learning in the early years
* An estimated 10 per cent of children have a learning difficulty
of some kind;
* Dyslexia and dyscalculia (number blindness) can both
substantially reduce lifetime earnings and GCSE achievement, with
dyscalculia potentially as common as dyslexia - but frequently undetected;
* Improvements in early detection and intervention would prevent
problems developing further and improve educational achievement;
* Teacher training needs to capitalise on new, emerging
scientific understanding of child development in areas such as
neuroscience and developmental psychology.
Wellbeing at work
* Work related absenteeism accounts for between 10 million to 14
million days lost, costing business around £750 million per annum;
* Presenteeism - where the individual is at work but not
productive - could cost the UK around £900 million per year (this
is worked out using figures from the US and adjusting to fit the
UK work environment);
* Continuously developing our mental capital by training and
retraining through our working lives will be crucial to compete in
the global market for skills and can improve mental wellbeing;
* New forms of flexible working could help employees meet the
conflicting demands of intensification of work and the increased
need for people to look after older relatives;
* There should be better integration of primary care and
occupational health services to identify early symptoms of stress
and mental ill-health which could help people return to work.
Ageing population
* We need to act now - new treatments could take years to become
available so protective lifestyles need to be adopted now by the
middle aged;
* Addressing dementia is a priority. By 2071 the number of over
65's could nearly double to over 21 million, and those aged
80 could more than treble to 9.5 million
* Treating dementia costs the UK £17 billion a year - this is set
to rise to £50 billion a year within 30 years;
* Scientific developments, such as biomarkers could help detect
dementia earlier. (Biomarkers are objective biological measures
associated with presence of a disease, increased risk for it, or
response to treatment. MRI scans are one example). Early detection
could help the development of new drugs, improve potential
therapeutic benefit of treatment, enhance quality of life for
patients and reduce financial burden of health care services in
the long tem.
* The mental capital of older people is a massive, and under
utilised resource. Unlocking this could benefit the wellbeing and
prosperity of older people and society as a whole
* We need to ensure wellbeing in the elderly - this could be
provided through: better treatment for common mental disorders
such as depression, enabling people to engage in paid and unpaid
work if they wish, lifelong learning, and through social networking.
As the project's sponsor, DIUS will now take responsibility
for the report's recommendations to assist in policy
development across government. A report in 12 months time will
outline the project's progress including action by other stakeholders.
Notes to editors
1) Download the full report at http://www.foresight.gov.uk
(only available from Wednesday 22 October.
2) Mental capital refers to a person's cognitive and
emotional resources; how the brain processes information (thinking
and learning) and their "emotional intelligence" such as
their social skills and resilience in the face of stress.
3) Foresight is part of the Government Office for Science (GO
Science). Its function is to help Government think systematically
about the future. Foresight uses the latest scientific and other
evidence to provide signposts for policymakers in tackling future challenges.
4) Foresight reports do not constitute Government policy. Rather,
they are intended to inform the strategic and long-term choices
facing Government departments, business and us all. The rolling
programme of projects is selected by Foresight following wide
stakeholder consultation. The projects run for 18 months to 2
years and include 3 main stages: scoping; collecting the evidence
base; and providing a series of policy options after analysing how
the issue will change in the future. Once a project is agreed, the
department with the greatest policy interest in the project is
invited to become the sponsoring department and nominate one of
its ministers to chair the High Level Stakeholder Group.
5) DIUS brings together the nation's strengths in science,
research, universities and colleges to build a dynamic,
knowledge-based economy. Its primary role is to drive forward
delivery of the Government's long-term vision to make Britain
one of the best places in the world for science, research and
innovation and to raise the level of education and skills at every
level in our economy to give the UK the competitive edge.
6) For further enquires, please contact the GO Science Press
Office on 0203 300 8099 / 8126.
ENDS