The Scottish Government places a high priority on improving the health of the people of Scotland. The focus in Scotland on working age health is not new and initiatives have been supported by government since 1996, with additional emphasis given in 2003.
The Scottish Government has worked with the other administrations in Great Britain on the Health, Work and Wellbeing strategy since its launch in 2005 and we welcome the report by Dame Carol Black on the health of the working age population of Great Britain.
The Scottish Government's response to the Dame Carol Black report sets out why we continue to place importance on maximising the health of our working age population and what our priorities are in achieving this.
- Publication - Publication of the Scottish Government's response to Dame Carol Black's report on health of working age population.
- Links - Useful websites.
The then Scottish Executive published Healthy Working Lives a plan for action in August 2004. This set out a vision for improving the health of the working age population through promoting health and wellbeing in the workplace and supporting into work those who are unemployed with health conditions.
Since 2004 there have been a number of policy developments around health and work which have prompted a review of the healthy working lives approach. These have included Dame Carol Black's review of the health of the working age population of Great Britain, Working for a Healthier Tomorrow and the responses by the Scottish, Welsh and UK Governments.
Health Works, the update to our Healthy Working Lives strategy, sets out why we want to change attitudes to health and work amongst employers, workers and healthcare professions, and the actions that we will undertake to achieve this.