Hastings is a pretty seaside town which sits on the East Sussex coast where 14.7 percent of residents are unable to work due to long-term sickness, the highest percentage anywhere in the UK.
While this is a major problem for the town, it forms one part of a productivity crisis gripping the UK as more and more people are out of work.
According to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), around 2.7 million people are unable to work because of long-term illness. Of the multitude of illnesses that have left millions unable to work, one of the most common are mental health conditions.
The Telegraph reported that 5,502 people in Hastings are claiming Personal Independence Payment (PIP) for a range of reasons including disability, mental health conditions, or illness.
Speaking to the publication, restaurant owner Claudio Ganadu claimed that part of the problem was that people under the age of 25 were not willing to work.
He claimed: “It is not a priority for them. They do not believe work is as valuable as an hour doing something else. The difficulty is not recruiting, but recruiting the right people that are actually willing to work for a business.
“People are not as willing as before to do some jobs. They just want to be stress-free.”
Mr Ganadu also suggested that the Covid-19 lockdowns had made younger people more apathetic and that the Government needed to make people “more accountable” for their careers.
The struggle to attract young people has been reflected by St Leonards-on-Sea which neighbours Hastings. Factory owners in the region have said there was low interest among young people when it came to working in manufacturing.
Speaking to the BBC, operations director Jean Carlos Dias said: “It’s very difficult to recruit young people here. They don’t know what manufacturing is.”
Trade body Make UK has said that unfilled vacancies were costing the UK economy billions every single year. Senior policy manager Jamie Cater said there was “an urgency” to get “young people into the sector”.
While young people not entering certain professions is an issue, it isn’t the main reason why towns like Hastings and St Leonard’s-On-Sea are struggling, other factors are also playing a role.
Long-term illness isn’t the only problem facing Hastings, homelessness is also an issue for the East Sussex town which is receiving £5.4m from the Government to address the issue.
Earlier this month, Hastings Borough Council said that the money would be used to buy 25 homes to help people move permanently out of homelessness. It will be split between a housing management team and a revenue support service.
In a statement, Councillor Simon Willis said: “This funding is hugely welcomed, and it will allow us to provide much-needed homes for some of our residents who face the most barriers to finding and maintaining a home.
“A safe, secure and stable place to call home is a fundamental right and we are very focused on addressing our housing and homelessness issues in every way we can. I look forward to working with our excellent housing team to invest this money for the good of our most vulnerable residents.”
