Legal & General Capital | Addressing health inequalities

Making health a central priority

Legal & General describes its ethos as ‘inclusive capitalism’ – a recognition that the benefits of economic growth must be shared by all. Through our strategies, we target investments that address societal and environmental needs, whilst securing lasting value for society.

Health is a critical factor in driving societal and economic wellbeing and has a vital role to play as we work to help the UK ’level up’. Work to date has examined how government and the NHS can reduce health inequity, but until now no-one has really considered the role that business can play.

We aim to change that by playing a leading role in a new mission to help business use its scale and influence to tackle the injustice of health inequity across the UK, partnering with Professor Sir Michael Marmot at University College London; a world expert on health inequity.

Sir Michael’s research has shown that the key drivers of health inequality aren’t the things you might find in hospitals or GP surgeries. They are the conditions in which people grow, live, work and age – known as the social determinants of health. But not everyone has the same opportunities to lead a healthy life. Health inequity is the idea that there are unfair, unjust, and biologically avoidable differences in health outcomes between different population groups. These are typically the result of systems that negatively affect people’s living conditions.

Health inequality

¼

of all deaths globally are caused by unhealthy environments

1 in 8 workers

do more than 48 hours work per week in the UK, and excessive working hours are linked to premature deaths

75%

of disposable income would need to be spent by deprived decile households to afford the NHS Eatwell plate

Learn more through the stories of George and Sumita in this animation

Learn more through the stories of George and Sumita in this animation video

We have established a ground-breaking partnership with the UCL Institute of Health Equity to examine how businesses can help to reduce health inequalities

Led by the internationally renowned epidemiologist Professor Sir Michael Marmot, the UCL Institute of Health Equity has led major reviews across the world, influenced action by governments and international organisation, and led the social determinants and health equity movement.

Addressing health inequalities partnership

Addressing health inequalities partnership video

The Business of Health Equity: The Marmot Review for Industry

This latest Marmot review, funded by Legal & General, sets out three ways that business can improve people’s lives by reducing health inequality.

How can organisations step up to address the social determinants of health?

Employment

Promote the health of employees through pay and benefits, hours and job security and conditions of work.

Products and services

Support the health of clients, customers and shareholders through products and services they provide and investments they make.

Influence

Influence the health of individuals in the communities through investment influence, procurement, and supply networks.

Research and action

We established the Advanced Care Research Centre (“ACRC) with the University of Edinburgh and was the initial funder for Care Sourcer, the UK’s first comparison and matching site for elderly care, which launched a free Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to all UK care provider employees.

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Newcastle

Our long-term partnership with Newcastle Council and Newcastle University continues to deliver at pace, undertaking research into improving ageing health span with The National Centre for Ageing. We have also donated £5mn to fund independent living facilities for older residents and provide core funding for a 20/25-bed “new model” residential care home, driving improvements in infection control and helping to minimise negative effects on residents living with dementia.

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Place-based university partnerships

Legal & General has also formed long-term multi-billion pound partnerships with the Universities of Oxford and Manchester to develop innovation districts which will help incubate spin-out businesses such as those which lead the way in developing the COVID-19 vaccinations.

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Stewardship

Legal & General uses its role as a major shareholder to encourage companies to play their part in reducing health inequality. Recent examples include encouraging a major supermarket chain to pay real living wages for all its staff and asking global pharma companies to work with governments across all levels of income to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, including sharing intellectual capital and manufacturing capacity.

Join a local network

To make a meaningful impact, we need to understand the challenges faced across the country. We have established a UK wide place-based network and are inviting businesses and the public sector to join. Click the button below to register your interest and find out more.