Britain faces a ‘Covid decade’ with the ‘profound social damage’ caused by the pandemic set to dog the country.
A grim report urges a major policy overhaul to help the country recover from the impact of coronavirus on health, education and economic prospects.
The assessment from the British Academy – funded by the government but independent – was launched on the anniversary of the first lockdown.
It warns significant intervention will be needed to avoid more extreme inequality and ongoing misery for swathes of the population.
The report, The Covid decade: Understanding the long-term societal impacts of Covid-19, highlights a number of interconnected trends.
They include low and unstable levels of trust in the national government that undermine the ability to mobilise public behaviour.
It cautions that following a short-lived initial increase, faith the UK government and feelings of national unity are in decline.
A grim report urges a major policy overhaul to help the country recover from the impact of coronavirus on health, education and economic prospects. Pictured, boarded up shops in London today
Commuters packed on to the Tube in face coverings today after a year of upheaval
Other worrying trends are widening geographic inequalities in health and wellbeing, local economic risk and resilience, and poverty and worsening social development, relationships and mental health.
The review suggests the impact of these will vary according to age, gender, race and ethnicity, and levels of social deprivation.
The lost – and likely unrecoverable – access to education at all levels will exacerbate existing disadvantage.
The hit to digital and technology skills will also impede progress towards a prosperous, high-skilled economy.
The experts warn that consequences of lost access to education at all levels, coupled with changes to assessments, will be felt for years to come.
The paper argues the pandemic has exposed major gaps in public policy that the Government must now address.
They include tensions between the roles of local and central authorities, and strengthening community-led social infrastructure.
It suggested closing the ‘digital divide’ by treating access to infrastructure such as broadband as essential.
The British Academy – the UK’s national academy for the humanities and the social sciences – convened and engaged with more than 200 academics, practitioners and policy specialists to put together the report.
Dominic Abrams, professor of social psychology at the University of Kent and lead author of the documents, said: ‘The evidence provides us with a vital insight into the immense social impact of Covid-19 and the substantial challenges we must address in the coming decade.
‘There are multiple forms of inequality that create personal and societal obstacles to progress.
‘Finding ways to create greater inclusiveness, tackle underlying mechanisms of inequality, and create the resourcefulness to share a better future will be our biggest challenge during this ‘Covid decade’.
‘The Covid decade will also be profoundly shaped by policy decisions, and this offers us many opportunities. Government will need to establish a longer-term vision to tackle the impacts of Covid-19.
‘This will involve working in partnership with places and people to address structural problems systematically, not just in a piecemeal way.’
Hetan Shah, chief executive of the British Academy, said: ‘A year from the start of the first lockdown, we all want this to be over.
‘However, in truth, we are at the beginning of a Covid decade.
A car drives past a coronavirus warning sign in Brookwood, Surrey
‘Policymakers must look beyond the immediate health crisis to repair the profound social damage wrought by the pandemic.’
A Government spokeswoman said: ‘Coronavirus is the biggest public health challenge the UK has faced in decades and as we recover from this pandemic this Government is committed to building back better and levelling up outcomes for every individual across the country.
‘That’s why we’ve implemented robust support to those who need it most – raising the living wage, spending billions to safeguard jobs, investing £2.4 billion each year for disadvantaged pupils, and boosting welfare support and local authority funding.
‘On top of that, we are providing an additional £500m for mental health services and £79 million to expand mental health support teams in schools and colleges.’