Spotlight on Policy, from the New Statesman The New Statesman

Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women globally. It causes more than 800 deaths in the UK each year.
 
Yet 99.8% of cervical cancer cases are entirely preventable. Regular screening and the introduction of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination are helping to reduce the number of deaths. With smart policy and public health interventions NHS England have set 2040 as the target date for total elimination of cervical cancer.
 
If that goal is to be met the issue of health inequality needs to be addressed; currently screening and vaccination rates vary between different regions, communities and socio-economic groups.
 
So what needs to be done to share best practice and narrow these inequalities?
 
In this episode of Spotlight on Policy, host Zoe Grunwald is joined by Emma Cerrone, Business Unit Director for Public Health & Vaccines at MSD; Dr Adeola Olaitan, Honorary Associate Professor at University College London and Honorary Consultant Gynaecological Oncologist at UCLH; and Gayathri Kumar, Senior Economist at OHE, the Office for Health Economics.
 
This episode has been fully funded by MSD who, as sponsors, have reviewed and inputted to the final content. The report referenced by Office for Health Economics throughout this episode was fully funded by MSD. Ultimate editorial control for this episode and the OHE report rests solely with the New Statesman and the Office for Health Economics, respectively. MSD is one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies active in several key areas of global health, including immunisation and oncology.

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Fuel poverty is on the rise with millions of households in England having to choose whether to “heat or eat”.
Last year, the Government estimated almost 9 million households could be classed as “fuel poor”. This means that, after housing costs, more than 10 per cent of their household income would be spent on heating.
Covid supply disruptions and the war in Ukraine have contributed to the problem alongside the UK’s economic crisis. 
In this episode host Zoë Grünewald is joined by British Gas Energy Trust Chief Executive Jessica Taplin, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice Rhondda Cynon Taff, Ashley Comley and Chief Executive Officer of Bromley by Bow Centre, Ellen De Decker. They explore reasons for the sharp rise in fuel poverty, what’s being done to support those in need and what needs to change to ensure Government funding gets through to those who need it most.
This New Statesman podcast episode is sponsored by The British Gas Energy Trust, an independent charitable trust funded solely by British Gas. The Trust offers financial support for vulnerable households and is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.

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The UK is on course for a huge rise in preventable illness. The Health Foundation charity predicts that by 2040, one in five adults will be living with a serious condition, such as cancer, dementia or heart disease. Meanwhile, economic activity is stagnating, with roughly 2.8 million people currently out of work due to ill health, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics.
Our world-leading life sciences sector has the capacity to help reverse this trend. In 2021 alone, it contributed £43.3bn to the UK economy, and supported 646,000 jobs. With the right investment, it could add an additional £68bn to GDP over the next 30 years, create 85,000 more jobs and result in a 40 per cent decrease in disease burden across the UK.
This episode, in partnership with professional services firm PwC, explores how greater investment into vital disease areas such as cancer, obesity and immunology could make British society physically and financially healthier.
Emma Haslett is joined by Chi Onwurah, the shadow minister for science, research and innovation; Dr Dan Mahoney, chair of the UK BioIndustry Association (BIA) and the government’s life sciences investment envoy; and Stephen Aherne, pharmaceutical and life sciences leader at PwC UK.
If you enjoyed this podcast you can find more of Spotlight's policy reporting in our standalone Spotlight podcast feed, or at newstatesman.com/spotlight  

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MPs have voted to back Rishi Sunak's progressive smoking ban. Can it work?
The Tobacco & Vapes Bill includes new legislation to increase the smoking age by one year, every year, banning the sale of cigarettes to anyone born after 1st January 2009. MPs have voted the bill through its second reading and it is now in the committee stage.
The tobacco firm Philip Morris International have pledged to move away from selling cigarettes, and instead focus on heated tobacco products. In this episode, Becky Slack is joined by Dr. Moira Gilchrist of Philip Morris International, to discuss the company's plans for a "smoke-free future" and whether Britain - and tobacco firms - really can kick cigarettes for good.
This episode was paid for by Philip Morris International. The New Statesman retains full editorial control.

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The world is currently facing multiple crises, from geopolitical conflicts to pandemics and climate change. But amidst this turbulence, international aid budgets are being stretched as domestic issues take precedence. The UK has cut its overseas aid budget significantly, from 0.7 to 0.5 per cent of gross national income. Meanwhile, low-income countries need more support than ever, as they deal with the fall out of wars, extreme poverty, natural disasters and humanitarian issues. The costs involved are huge, and while aid still has a role to play, we need to look beyond grants to unlock funding on a bigger scale to fix these problems.
In this sponsored podcast, host and freelance journalist Emma Haslett is joined by Sarah Champion, Labour MP for Rotherham and chair of the cross-party international development parliamentary committee; James Mwangi, founder of Climate Action Platform for Africa, an organisation working to unlock Africa's potential as a global hub for climate action; and Hannah Ryder, CEO at Development Reimagined, an Africa-led and women-led international development consultancy.
Focusing on the African continent, they explore the need to reform global financial institutions, and how the UK can develop new models of financial support that rely less on aid and more on partnership and collaboration with low-income countries.
This podcast is sponsored by One, a not-for-profit international development organisation which campaigns to end extreme poverty and preventable disease by 2030.
Join the fight for a more equal future: visit one.org.

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The UK is one of the biggest plastic polluters in the world. According to Greenpeace we produce more plastic waste per person than almost any other country, with our supermarkets creating roughly 800,000 tonnes every year.
We need to find ways to minimise waste through keeping products and packaging in circulation for as long as possible. This is where the circular economy comes in - a more sustainable model of production that reduces, reuses, repairs and recycles. With a general election coming up, creating a circular economy will be a crucial component of the next government’s net zero agenda, and businesses will need to play their part.
In this sponsored podcast, host and freelance journalist Emma Haslett is joined by Julian Hunt, vice president of public affairs, communication and sustainability of GB and Northern Europe at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners; Ruth Jones, Labour MP for Newport West and shadow minister for environmental protection and animal welfare; and Dr Costas Velis, a lecturer in resource efficiency systems in the School of Civil Engineering (SoCE), at the University of Leeds. They explore how the UK can move towards a circular economy, and the role businesses play in enabling that shift.
This podcast is sponsored by Coca-Cola Europacific Partners.
To learn more about Coca-Cola Europacific Partners' work in making its packaging more sustainable, you can check out its This is Forward packaging commitments or for further information about the company head here.
Listen to the podcast in full here or on the Spotlight on Policy podcast channel.

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