A survey held in 2018 asked people in Guernsey and Alderney how they would cope with an unexpected but necessary bill of £100 or £1000.

One fifth of people said "it would not be easy" to find £100, while a smaller - but still important - 6% of respondents said they would not be able to afford it at all.

One third of respondents would struggle to find a spare £1000, while just over a fifth wouldn't be able to gather the money at all.

Pictured: The 2023 Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy Annual Report can be read in full HERE.

The information was revealed under a section of the annual report - collated as part of the wider Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy for 2023-29 - called 'Building blocks for good health'.

The report authors state that social factors, living conditions, and surroundings are all directly linked to our mental health and wellbeing.

Our personal finances are also directly related to, led by, and affected by social factors, our living conditions, and surroundings. 

More specifically, the Report authors state that the building blocks for health - which affect all people - include things such as "stable jobs, good pay, quality and secure housing, education and skills and meaningful community connections".

"Providing society with these things are similar to constructing a sturdy building," says the Report.

"A thriving community, with good mental wellbeing needs all the right building blocks in place in order to be able to succeed. Identifying, measuring, and tackling inequalities and places where blocks are missing is vital to ensure we fix the root of these problems as well as dealing with poor mental health once it arises."

With around a fifth of people struggling financially to the point that they would find it difficult to find £100 spare to cover a necessary bill it is clear that not everyone is benefiting from the identified 'building blocks for good health'.

Further negatives

The Report tells us that Health deprivation has increased since 2019 suggesting an increasing number of people are not benefiting from the building blocks for good health as identified above.

Pictured: The 2023 Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy Annual Report can be read in full HERE.

The statistics for health deprivation are calculated by assessing the years of potential life lost per 10,000 population, the number of people receiving invalidity/severe disability benefits, and the number of emergency admissions lasting at least 24 hours per capita.

Data analysts also compared the number of doctor/nurse appointments for those in receipt of Income Support compared with those not in receipt of the benefit.

Over the decade since 2014, health deprivation has clearly risen across Guernsey and Alderney.

With the housing crisis dominating the news over recent months, it will be no surprise to read that housing deprivation has also been increasing over the past decade.

This is measured by analysing overcrowding as a percentage of households, the number of people who don't have secure housing, the annual rent/purchase price to earnings ratio, the number of people renting from the States or GHA, and the percentage of households receiving assistance with social housing rent payments.

The rate of employment deprivation increased throughout the covid pandemic and has continued to rise even though unemployment remains at a low level in Guernsey. 

Aside from the stark proof that around a fifth of people would struggle to find £100 at short notice, with many people suffering health, housing, and employment deprivation, the Report offers a positive view on some improvements that have been evidenced over the past decade.

Since 2014, income deprivation has decreased.

This index is measured by looking at the proportion of the population whose household income is less than 60% of the median and the proportion of population whose household income is less than 60% of the median and are not in receipt of supplementary benefit / income support.

Data is also provided to show that over recent years the proportion of household income spent on housing has increased from 24% to 27% between 2018 and 2020.