Business News
Report on healthy ageing says targets are being missed
The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted stark inequalities in healthy life expectancy, according to a new report. The report into healthy ageing has been published by the House of Lords
Science and Technology Committee, following an in-depth inquiry for which the University of Birmingham’s Professor Janet Lord was a special adviser. The report finds that the ‘understanding of the biology of ageing is
advancing rapidly’, with new medications and drug repurposing bringing the potential to delay the onset of age-related diseases. The committee has recommended that the government continues to
invest in drug and biological research, and also areas such as Artificial Intelligence, emerging robotics and data driven technologies, which have the potential to significantly support healthier and independent living in old age.
‘Life expectancy is increasing but the time spent in good health in old age is not keeping pace’
The report also found that the government’s ‘Ageing Society Grand Challenge’ target of ensuring people have five extra healthy years of life by 2035 will not be met. It said inequality is a major cause of ill health, resulting in a growing
period of poor health towards the end of life. For women, the committee’s report has found that ‘healthy life
expectancy at birth has decreased in the past decade’, while for men improvements in healthy ageing have slowed. It adds that Covid-19 has further highlighted health inequalities, showing
how poor health makes people more vulnerable to further health risks The report recommends assigning each older person a designated
clinician who will have oversight of the patient’s care as a whole and who can coordinate across multi-disciplinary teams. Professor Janet Lord said: “The government has set a target of the UK
achieving five more years of good health and reducing current stark health inequalities by 2035. “This inquiry by the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee
revealed that the target is unlikely to be met until there is a clear roadmap to achieve the target.
Growth boom
for IT business A Uttoxeter-based IT company has seen growth boom – despite the coronavirus crisis. So much so, that the firm – Infinity
IT Solutions – has already recruited six new employees this year. Infinity manages IT services for
third party businesses, and when the coronavirus struck a year ago the firm suddenly found its workload dramatically increase overnight. While this was going on, the
firm’s directors took the opportunity to invest in the company, including refurbishing its premises in Uttoxeter’s Market Place. This included upgrading all of its technology and equipment. Simon McAlpine, Infinity chief
commercial officer said: “It’s fantastic to be able to share such positive news – particularly during such a testing and difficult time. “Our team go above and beyond,
so our recent success and growth plans for 2021 are testament to their hard work.”
30 CHAMBERLINK February 2021
Janet Lord: People are living longer but not healthier
“Life expectancy is increasing but the time spent in good health in old
age is not keeping pace – we are living longer but not healthier. “Worryingly there are significant disparities in the time spent in ill health,
with adults in the bottom decile of income spending almost 20 years more in ill health than those in the top decile. “There have been major advances in our understanding of why we age
and clinical trials are even now beginning with drugs that inhibit ageing processes in order to prevent age-related disease. “This could deliver the step change required to achieve a longer and healthier life.”
Mondelez get high praise as firm cuts down on plastic use
Mondelez – which owns famous Birmingham chocolate maker Cadbury – has been praised for the progress it has made in reducing the use of plastic packaging. The company was singled out in a UK Plastics Pact
report for its progress in using recycled material and reducing the use of plastic. The company joined the UK Plastics Pact at the
start of the year, to help tackle the problem of plastic waste. It has a sustainable packaging strategy in the UK –
‘Pack Light and Pack Right’ – which is focused on reducing the amount of packaging, minimising the use of non-recyclable plastics, finding more ways to help recycle what’s left. Mondelez’s UK managing director Louise Stigant
said: “We are proud to play our part as a member of the UK Plastics Pact. “We are pleased with the positive progress we're
making, collectively reducing our plastic packaging by 40 per cent and improving the recyclability of our products. “However we know there still much more to be
done and a top priority for us is tackling flexible film. These materials help keep food safe and decrease waste, but we need to significantly improve their recyclability rates. “We’re working with the UK Plastics Pact, retailers
and Government to help deliver recycling programmes and develop the required infrastructure so that these materials can not only be designed to be recycled but actually get recycled.” Among key initiatives introduced by Mondelez is
reducing the amount of packaging used in Cadbury Dairy Milk large share bags by 15 per cent, and using recycled material in Dairylea Lunchables, which contain 75 per cent recycled plastic. In another move, the Philadelphia cream cheese
brand will use recycled plastic in the UK and Europe from 2022. Mondelez has already eliminated more than
64,000 tonnes of packaging globally since 2013, made 100 per cent of its paper-based packaging sustainably sourced and is on track to reach its ambitious target to make all its packaging recyclable by 2025.
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