“Poverty proofing” and a national strategy for the cost-of-living crisis (BMJ, 31 May 2023)

Summary

This BMJ article by journalist Andrew Kersley reports on a meeting of 157 medical experts and academics held at the Royal Society of Medicine on poverty and the cost-of-living crisis, which took place in May 2023. One academic at the event warned that the long term effect of ongoing economic inequality on life expectancy was worse than six unmitigated covid pandemics. The three solutions proposed at the meeting that received the most support were:

1. a national strategy to tackle poverty
2. the nationwide delivery of “more affordable, quality, secure social and rental housing”
3. urgently increasing the rate of Universal Credit as well as removing the restrictions related to total benefits and multiple children.