The Reality
People live within complex social and economic systems influenced by factors such as poverty, hidden mental health issues, weak social ties, and loneliness. These forces often interact within neighbourhoods that lack sufficient support to mitigate them. Market-driven public service commissioning and austerity measures have eroded the resources needed to maintain public services that strengthen communities and prevent the need for costly interventions.
As we know well, sectors like housing, education, policing, and healthcare are dealing with the fallout from underfunded social services, mental health challenges, and an epidemic of loneliness. These gaps are often filled without adequate training, resources, or funding, leaving service providers stretched and underserved.
I firmly believe in the need to develop new approaches to address the mounting challenges of ageing, wellbeing, and childcare—an approach already seen in several other countries. Could intergenerational support networks or peer-to-peer childcare arrangements provide an alternative to costly childcare and enable greater workforce participation?
There is growing evidence of public support for sufficiency policies. A recent European survey of citizen assemblies revealed greater willingness to embrace these policies than government bodies, which are more swayed by short-term interests and lobbying. This public appetite for change is further supported by research highlighting that the social and environmental dimensions of the housing crisis require more radical, structural reforms.