# State of the Nation: follow the connections

Created 1 November 2026. UK Facts editorial explainer.

Start here: how the pressures connect, where the picture has improved and which film to watch next.

## Figures, dates and limitations

### HEALTH: A LIFE PUT ON HOLD.
- England · August 2026 · NHS England
- Not unique people.

### SLOWER PROGRESS.
- UK · ONS · after tax, benefits and inflation
- Average per person; not an individual pay rise.

### THE SQUEEZE IS UNEQUAL.
- Food + housing + energy share of spending
- UK · 2024–25 · ONS survey · excludes mortgage / council tax

## Sources
- https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/rtt-waiting-times/
- https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/RTT-Overview-Timeseries-Including-Estimates-for-Missing-Trusts-Aug26-XLS-139K-vjgRdG.xlsx
- https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/internationalmigration/bulletins/longterminternationalmigrationprovisional/yearendingdecember2025
- https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/grossdomesticproductgdp/timeseries/crxw/ukea
- https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/labourproductivity/timeseries/lzvb/prdy
- https://natcen.ac.uk/news/trust-and-confidence-britains-system-government-record-low
- https://natcen.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2024-06/BSA%2041%20Damaged%20Politics.pdf
- https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/crimeinenglandandwales/yearendingjune2026
- https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/crimeinenglandandwalesappendixtables
- https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/healthinequalities/bulletins/healthylifeexpectancybynationalareadeprivationenglandandwales/between2013to2015and2022to2024
- https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/households-below-average-income-for-financial-years-ending-1995-to-2025/households-below-average-income-an-analysis-of-the-uk-income-distribution-fye-1995-to-fye-2025
- https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/housing/bulletins/housingaffordabilityinenglandandwales/2025
- https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-homelessness
- https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/key-stage-4-performance/2025-26
- https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/pupil-absence-in-schools-in-england/2024-25
- https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-health-and-care-plans
- https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/medium-term-planning-framework-delivering-change-together-2026-27-to-2028-29/
- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/budget-2026-document/budget-2026-html
- https://dev.uk-statpack.co.uk/swot

Full analysis: https://dev.uk-statpack.co.uk/swot

## Production and assurance
AI narration: Jay (Manchester). Casting is for a natural regional delivery; accent does not establish social class or geographic coverage. No impersonation or personal endorsement is implied.

Animated bars use zero baselines and the displayed units. No incompatible series are added together. Scene data and the finished file checksum are retained. Survey/estimate caveats remain beside figures. Policy proposals and commitments are labelled separately.

Render, caption timing, data-source checks and visual sample review are builder checks, not independent analytical assurance or AQuA certification. No guaranteed policy effects, invented savings or verdicts are claimed. The “What can we do?” film discusses selected commitments, not a comprehensive appraisal of the government programme.

No full 30-year series is manufactured where compatible history is unavailable. The education film uses provisional 2025–26 exam-gap data; attendance and support-plan measures have their own earlier dates. The trust survey is historical 2023 evidence, not current approval of the government.