The current UK Labour government faces significant concerns about the rising percentage of the population diagnosed with disabilities, leading to an increased number of individuals registered as unable to work. This surge places a substantial strain on benefit costs, hampering government efforts to reduce borrowing and stimulate economic growth. In response, the government plans to introduce more stringent criteria for disability diagnosis and to increase support for rehabilitation programs to help more people return to work . Meanwhile, these concerns have been echoed for many years now by some medical professionals worried about over-diagnosis and the growing tendency to medicalise everyday life problems, especially in the field of psychiatry. This discourse is reflected in the publication this year of least three books in the UK, addressing these concerns:
• No More Normal: Mental Health in an Age of Over-Diagnosis by Alistair Santhouse.
• Searching for Normal: A New Approach to Understanding Distress and Neurodiversity. by Sami Timimi.
• The Age of Diagnosis: Sickness, Health and Why Medicine Has Gone Too Far by Suzanne O’Sullivan.
Keywords: politics
Evidence Week in UK’s Parliament
From UK’s Sense About Science: ‘This year’s Evidence Week in Parliament brought together more MPs, Peers, researchers and voters than ever before to discuss how evidence is used and scrutinised at Westminster. Evidence Week empowers parliamentarians to ask the right questions of policy evidence – what works, what doesn’t and what vital information is missing. It is important that legislators recognise how much the public value evidence, and what better way to do this than to have members of the public open Evidence Week? …. Evidence Week welcomed more researchers than ever before into Parliament to deliver quick-fire policy briefings on a variety of topics including AI, health, climate change and pollution. Over two days, researchers from top UK institutions shared their latest findings with the offices of over 80 MPs and 14 Peers, creating over 300 new conversations and connections – engaging 45% more parliamentarians than the previous year! Hundreds of supporters submit questions for Committee Chairs, and hundreds more people watched our Reverse Committee hearing broadcast from Parliament, where committee chairs respond to members of the public on topics ranging from paternity leave and restorative justice to child poverty and transport spending. View the meeting.’