HC Deb 20 October 1981 vol 10 c97W
27. Mr. Campbell-Savours

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will make a statement on the recent progress of the research at Queen Mary college into the correlation between unemployment and mortality.

Dr. Vaughan:

The research team at Queen Mary college is examining the work of Professor Harvey Brenner, who has suggested a link between unemployment and mortality in Britain for the period 1936–1976. The work so far calls into question the validity of the statistical model used by Professor Brenner since it fails to take account of relevant factors such as improvements in diet and medical care which occurred during the period. The work also suggests that for other periods, for example 1922–1976, no statistically significant relationship between unemployment and mortality can be shown. Copies of the article in The Lancet in which the findings are discussed have been sent to the Social Services Committee.