Government has ignored the value of prevention

 By Thomas Hawk

The tremors from Wednesday’s Comprehensive Spending Review are still being felt in local authorities across the UK, nurses, teachers, regeneration officers, anyone who receives benefits, and people – like myself, who are wondering if it was naïve to expect the CSR to at least hint at a vision for what our future might look like.

Specifically, we need to be using this moment of change to make decisions about the kind of future we want to have: broad, strategic decisions that look to how equal our society is, how strong our physical and mental well-being is, how sustainable our future is, how necessary our environmental changes are. Instead, the focus of the CSR is on retrenchment: reduce spending, remove barriers to citizen participation, cut red tape, minimise the state in all its forms. With the focus on retreating to absolute needs how can we expect to affect the kind of systemic change we need in order to support and sustain a society where we can all flourish. Where well-being is at the heart of public services, and where we make bold and innovative moves to new forms of energy.

The word ‘prevention’ is mentioned three times in the 106 page CSR document. Striking the balance between acute care and preventative measures is difficult, but absolutely necessary. It is the difference between an elderly person being able to live in their own home, rather than in supported care; the difference between a young person at risk of becoming NEET staying in school, training or education or someone at risk of re-offending instead being able to develop the skills and support needed to re-integrate into society. It is the ability to stop acute needs arising which are both costly, and more importantly detrimental to someone’s well-being.

Unfortunately, prevention takes a back seat during times of crisis. All too often it is seen as a ‘nice to have’ rather than the central effort of public services and it is marginalised in favour of reactive services that firefight  demands on their resources. But prevention will be all the more important in an era of reduced cuts, and needs to become a focus for local and central government alike.

Read more about nef's policies on preventative services in our reports A False Economy and Backing the Future.