The National Health Service was always intended as part of a coordinated package of measures linked to inequalities in housing, welfare, work, and learning. However, over the past 70 years, as demands on the NHS have grown, policies for health, learning, and the workplace have been largely uncoordinated.

Learning and Work Institute thinks that increased access to learning and employment opportunities can help to reduce demand for health services as well as improve outcomes for individuals, the economy and society. Better alignment of health services with learning, skills and employment will help the UK meet its future workforce needs and give everyone, regardless of background, a fairer chance in life. Interconnected issues deserve solutions that are interconnected.