Rachel Reeves is missing a £12 billion opportunity to save lives and grow the economy

27 March 2025, 11:09

The Chancellor’s room for manoeuvre in the Spring Statement has been seriously curtailed by a loss of ‘fiscal headroom’ since the Autumn Statement.

In essence, this means that she needs to find new sources of money or make savings.

One area the Spring Statement failed to cover could provide billions to the UK economy while saving thousands of lives.

RoSPA research shows that accidents cost the UK a minimum of £12 billion a year through a combination of lost working days and NHS costs. Ten times as many working days were lost to accidents as strikes in 2023, further straining productivity.

Tragically, rates of accidents and associated costs continue to rise, with a 42 per cent increase in accidental deaths in the UK since 2013. Yet, accident prevention receives far less political attention than welfare and business spending, despite profoundly impacting them.

If welfare reforms are intended to support people back into work, workplaces need the right health and safety processes to ensure people who have been unable to work due to sickness or injury are in a safe environment.

Otherwise, accidents will likely increase, as will the cost of treatment and lost productivity. Most accidents happen at home and disproportionately affect people from deprived backgrounds, so tightening access to disability benefits risks putting the most vulnerable people in greater danger and the taxpayer footing an even bigger bill.

The case for a strategic focus on accident prevention is as much economic as moral. Coordinated action to halve the current economic cost of accidents could save nearly £6 billion—more than the projected savings from welfare cuts. This would also boost tax revenues by keeping more people in work and reduce pressure on the NHS.

RoSPA is calling for the Government to commit to a National Accident Prevention Strategy. There is currently no single Government department or accountable minister for accident prevention, with separate work taking place across different departments.

The Spring Statement included welcome investments in areas like the road network and workplace health and safety. However, the potential of such spending to reduce overall accident rates can only be fully realised through more strategic thinking.

Improvements to roads must be followed swiftly by the implementation of a Road Safety Strategy for England to quicken progress towards reducing road fatalities. Success in returning people to work requires strong backing from the Health and Safety Executive for businesses to deliver robust occupational health and safety systems.

The Office for Value for Money should make accident prevention the responsibility of one single minister and department to reduce bureaucracy and enhance effectiveness. By effectively reallocating existing funding from various accident prevention schemes, significant short-term cost increases can be avoided. This will alleviate pressures on UK businesses and our health service and - most importantly - save lives.

Steve Cole is Policy Director of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.

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Steve Cole is Policy Director of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.

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