MOST people who are off work because of long-term sickness are living with a mental health problem with austerity damaging access to support, according to a new report.

The number of working-age people who are economically inactive due to poor health has increased by around half a million since early 2019 to about 2.5 million last summer, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have revealed.

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) found that among those people, some six in 10 people are living with a mental health problem.

IPPR health and prosperity lead Chris Thomas said austerity had damaged access to services while the Covid-19 pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis are “taking a huge toll.

He said: “Until recently, nobody was talking about health as having a role in the labour market.

“This report now shows that mental health, as well as physical health and multiple conditions, are driving the UK’s poor economic outcomes.

“This trend isn’t going anywhere. As the population ages and public services deal with cuts, health looks set to deteriorate.”