It may be uncomfortable listening for some, but it’s high time that menopause – and women’s health more widely, including menstruation, fertility problems, pregnancy, miscarriage and more – move up the workplace agenda. The time for squeamishness is long gone.

Leading businesses and Purpose Coalition partners were joined by Minister for Social Mobility, Youth and Progression, Mims Davies MP, at a Women in the Workplace roundtable, sponsored by Teleperformance.

The urgent need to level up the most disadvantaged areas of the country, particularly targeting women experiencing inequality, was highlighted by new research which shows that in 2021, a woman in the North East of England was 1.7 times more likely to die early as a result of suicide, addiction or murder by a partner or family member than the rest of England and Wales, an increase of 15 per cent since 2018.

The NHS is 75 years old this week and we should take a moment to think of all those who have worked in it in the past, and those that still work there today.

Access to more detailed regional data will help deliver more effective social mobility strategies across the country.

NHS leaders have voiced concerns that the continued delay in the publication by the Government of an NHS workforce plan is leaving the NHS in limbo.

As we approach the next election, health will remain a crucial battleground. It’s one of the most important issues facing voters, and any political party putting themselves up for election without a clear plan to deliver the health services people want to see is unlikely to win.

Ramsay Health Care is in a particularly unique position as the largest independent healthcare provider in the country - with over 35 sites across England. It’s comprehensive partnerships with the NHS, large-scale workforce and connection’s with the local community means it has the potential to affect profound change across a range of our Purpose Goals.

This week, Leader Sir Keir Starmer and Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting unveiled their ‘NHS mission’. It’s a key battleground that undoubtedly commands the public’s attention but its success is also vital to the social and economic recovery of the country.

As the main political parties begin to lock horns on what are likely to be the big manifesto issues of a general election the NHS remains the hot topic, with workforce recruitment and retention at the top of the list.

This week I was delighted to welcome Labour’s Shadow Minister for Business and Industry, Bill Esterson MP, to a Purpose Coalition roundtable with senior representatives from leading business members of the Coalition, including Travelodge’s Chief People Officer Hannah Thompson, UK Power Networks’ Director of HR Andrew Pace, and Head of Government Relations at Pearson Education Daniel Pedley.

Matthew McPherson reviews what might come from a Labour reshuffle, and sets out why Keir Starmer needs a punchier front bench with ‘more Wes Streeting’s’ to take his message to the country.

A major new Purpose Coalition advocacy campaign was launched today by Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Wes Streeting MP, alongside former Health Ministers Rt Hon Dame Caroline Dineage MP, Rt Hon Anne Milton, and former Member of Sir Keir Starmer’s Shadow Cabinet Nick Forbes CBE.

Patricia Hewitt’s recent government-commissioned review of Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) is a response to the unprecedented challenges facing our health and social care system.

Senior Treasury Minister and Member of Parliament for Louth and Horncastle, Victoria Atkins MP has joined Purpose Coalition leaders Tony Simpson of Sodexo, Lynda McVay of Leonardo and Sandhya Sabapathy of The Adecco Group for a panel discussion with Rt Hon Justine Greening, Chair of the Purpose Coalition

The Minister for Social Mobility, Youth and Progression at the Department for Work and Pensions, Mims Davies MP, has today joined leading Purpose Coalition Members including Sodexo, the University of Southampton, Rolls Royce and Leonardo for a roundtable to share best private-sector practice with government, and discuss youth hubs, improving opportunities for those with key skills, prison leavers and more.

This week's guest blog by Andrew Attfield, Associate Director for Public Health at Barts Health NHS Trust.

In a year of sobering economic news, last week saw a particularly bleak statistic. A new study revealed that life expectancy rates in the United Kingdom over the last seven decades are worse than any other country in the G7, apart from those in the United States. France, Japan, Germany and Italy all now have better life expectancy rates.

Like most other health indicators, the issue of obesity impacts disadvantaged communities the most. Poor life expectancy, a higher incidence of serious diseases, poor neonatal health and maternal outcomes are just some of the other ways in which health inequality impedes access to opportunity for those who live there.

With perfect timing, coinciding with National Apprenticeship Week, the Government has announced the creation of four new government departments, recalibrating its commitment to a programme of growth and technological advance, driven by innovation and research.