Covid lockdown had detrimental effect on people’s mental health, report finds

Covid lockdowns had a “catastrophic effect” on the social fabric of the UK, resulting in worse mental health, a rise in addictions and increased domestic abuse, a report from the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) has found.

The report, Two Nations: the State of Poverty in the UK, was written by the CSJ’s Social Justice Commission. It says that the is UK in danger of sliding back into the divisions of the Victorian era, with a widening gap between the mainstream and the worst-off. It argues that the pandemic lockdowns blew the gap between the “haves” and “have nots” wide open.

“The country is deeply divided,” the report says. “There are those who are getting by and there are those who are not.” It adds: “Those left behind face multiple disadvantage and entrenched poverty. For these people work is barely worth it, their lives are marked by generations of family breakdown, their communities are torn apart by addictions and crime, they live in poor quality, expensive, and insecure housing, and they are sick. Our analysis has found that 40 per cent of the most deprived report having a mental health condition compared to just 13 per cent of the general population.”

Calls to domestic abuse helpline rose

The report also notes a rise in worse outcomes on a number of metrics: “During lockdown calls to a domestic abuse helpline rose 700%; mental ill health in young people went from one in nine to one in six and nearly a quarter among the oldest children; severe absence from school jumped 134%; 1.2 million more people went on working-age benefits, 86% more people sought help for addictions; prisoners were locked up for 22.5 hours a day.” It adds: “There is a growing gap between those who can get by and those stuck at the bottom.”

The report draws on a poll of 6,000 people conducted by JL Partners, 3,000 taken from the general public and 3,000 on the lowest income. It also heard from more than 350 small charities, social enterprises and policy experts, and the commission travelled to three nations of the UK and to more than 20 towns and cities

One of the big changes noted by the report is an increase in mental health problems among children. Twenty years ago, just one in nine children were assessed as having a clinically recognisable mental health problem. That figure is now one in five, rising to nearly one in four for those aged 17-19.

The report argues that on current trends, by 2030 more than one in four five- to 15-year-olds, which may be as many as 2.3 million children, could have a mental disorder.

‘Deeply uncomfortable’ reading

Andy Cook, the chief executive of the Centre for Social Justice, said: “This report makes for deeply uncomfortable reading.

“Lockdown policy poured petrol on the fire that had already been there in the most disadvantaged people’s lives, and so far no one has offered a plan to match the scale of the issues.

“What this report shows is that we need far more than discussions on finance redistribution, but a strategy to go after the root causes of poverty, education, work, debt, addiction and family.”

The most disadvantaged worry twice as much as the mainstream about the quality of their housing and communities being “torn apart” by addiction, the CSJ says.

“Although overall crime rates are down, violent crime remains high, and still 6% of families account for half of all convictions,” the report adds. “Outstanding cases for the crown courts continue to rise, eroding the public’s trust that justice will be done and emboldening criminals.

“Only 8% of victims are confident they would receive justice as a result of reporting a crime. Only 17% of the most disadvantaged who rent in social housing rate their quality of life at least eight out of 10, compared with 52% of those who own a property.”