Oxford News
DWP unveils new plan to keep disabled people working longer
Nearly 200 workplaces have now signed up as “Vanguard” employers under the Government’s Keep Britain Working programme, part of a wider strategy aimed at tackling the UK’s growing economic inactivity crisis.
The initiative, led by former John Lewis chairman Sir Charlie Mayfield, brings together more than 250 employers, local authorities, NHS organisations and disability groups to test new ways of supporting staff before health problems force them out of work.
At the heart of the latest plans is a new Workplace Health Intelligence Unit, which will, for the first time, collect standardised data on sickness absence, return-to-work rates and disability participation across UK workplaces.
The Government believes better data, earlier intervention and personalised “stay in work” plans could help address one of Britain’s biggest labour market challenges, with 2.8 million people currently out of work because of long-term sickness.
But while ministers argue the reforms are about offering support earlier, disability advocates have long warned that any attempt to reduce welfare spending or increase workforce participation must avoid placing additional pressure on people whose health limits the work they can do.
Sir Charlie Mayfield said the current system intervenes too late: “For too long, the system has been organised around supporting people after they get ill or face barriers.
“We need to shift the emphasis to earlier action, better integration, and a genuine, shared commitment to keeping people healthy and in work.”
He argued that employers should become active partners in workplace health rather than leaving responsibility solely to the NHS or benefits system: “It’s rare to find an opportunity that benefits employers, improves people’s life chances, and reduces government spending – all without large up-front investment.”
Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said businesses had embraced the programme: “The response from employers has been remarkable. Across every region and every sector, businesses want to do better by their workforce; they just need the right framework and the right support.
“Keep Britain Working is delivering both. A new national standard, better data, and real accountability. This is how we fix the broken system, keep people in work and grow our economy.”
The plans form part of the Government’s wider £3.5 billion employment support package, which includes expanded WorkWell services, Connect to Work and more than 1,000 specialist advisers helping disabled people and those with long-term health conditions remain in employment.
Health Secretary James Murray said the Government wanted to move beyond a system centred around issuing fit notes: “For too long, too many people have been handed fit notes without any extra support. What they really need is help to stay in work or get back to work safely.
“A piece of paper that so often closes doors is no substitute for a plan that opens them.”
Supporters argue that good work can improve health outcomes, reduce isolation and prevent people falling permanently out of the labour market.
Business leaders involved in the programme say earlier intervention, better-trained managers and more flexible workplace adjustments could stop short-term sickness becoming long-term absence.
But the initiative also arrives amid wider debate over disability benefits and welfare reform, with campaigners increasingly concerned about whether policies designed to increase employment risk blurring the line between encouraging work and expecting it regardless of an individual’s circumstances.
The Government insists the programme is centred on voluntary support, prevention and better workplace practices rather than forcing people back into employment.
Whether that balance can be maintained as wider welfare reforms continue to develop may become one of the defining questions of Britain’s disability and employment policy over the coming years.
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Companies signed up to the Government’s ‘Keep Britain Working’ programme
The Government says nearly 200 workplaces have now signed up as “Vanguard” employers, with major businesses including:
- Tesco
- Royal Mail
- John Lewis Partnership
- Marks & Spencer
- Google UK
- British Airways
- Jaguar Land Rover
- BT Group
- Lloyds Banking Group
- Sainsbury’s
- Burger King
- PwC UK
- BP
- Ford UK
- Aviva
- AXA Health
- Bupa UK
- Currys
- Nando’s
- Sky UK
The programme also includes NHS trusts, disability charities, insurers, local authorities and regional mayoral authorities across England, alongside all three devolved administrations.
On Wednesday, September 2, it was the Concours judging and private viewings to dominate the agenda for the day.
Twelve Concours classes were held across almost a century of motoring, including The Golden Age of Motoring, 100 Years of Carrrozzeria Touring, La Dolce Vita, 60 Years of the Lamborghini Miura and Passione Ferrari.
Two new classes also made their debut for 2026, Rare Breeds of the Digital Age and Hypercar Heaven, which recognise the growing importance of contemporary performance cars within the international collector market.
Judging will take place across Wednesday and Thursday, with the show field bringing together a 70-strong collection of classics, supercars and hypercars from around the world.
Some of the cars include Aa Maserati 8C 3000, Alfa Romeo Sprint Berlinetta, a one-off Maserati 3500GT Spyder Prototipo by Vignale, a very early Porsche 356 Split Window Coupé, Aston Martin DB3S, Lamborghini Miura P400S, Bizzarrini 5300GT, Ferrari 250 GT Series 1 Cabriolet, Bugatti EB110 Prototype, Aston Martin Valiant Prototype and the extraordinary Bugatti Bolide, one of just 40 produced worldwide.
Helen Pike has decided to step down as Master of Magdalen College School at the end of the 2026/27 academic year, the school in east Oxford announced in March.
MCS is one of the top performing schools in the country, ranking in the top 20 independent secondary schools in The Sunday Times Parent Power Schools Guide 2026.
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The new academic year will start next week, with Ms Pike preparing for one more year in charge before she hands over to her successor, who will take over in September 2027.
The first female Master at MCS, Ms Pike guided the board of governors to one of the most significant decisions in the school’s history, to become fully co-educational from 2027.
While there has been a co-educational sixth form at the school for 15 years, the school last month announced it will become fully co-educational over the coming decade.
Ms Pike said earlier: “I love MCS, and it is a perennial privilege to lead this remarkable school.
“Being Master of MCS is a brilliant job, and I am declaring my intention early in order to give MCS the very best opportunity to find the right Master for September 2027. I shall continue to do all in my power to further the fortunes of this wonderful school until then.
“I look forward to a new phase in my own professional life, one that builds on all that I have enjoyed and achieved in my career during the past 30 years.
“Having encouraged many cohorts of pupils to take sensible risks and to do something creative and different when the time feels right, I am doing just that.”
During Ms Pike’s tenure, MCS has been recognised as a Top 20 Independent School and South East School of the Year by the Sunday Times and won Independent School of the Year for Social Mobility.
Thanking her in his letter to the school community, chair of governors, Bob Price, said earlier this year: “Helen is an outstanding leader and will go with our sincere gratitude and warm thanks for her exceptional headship.
“She will leave the school in excellent shape for her successor.”
Recruitment for a replacement for Ms Pike is now under way.
Last month, Ms Pike congratulated pupils on their “outstanding success” in this year’s A-Level exams, after more than a quarter of pupils (43) achieved three A*s or more and 25 secured all A*s.
In total, 39 pupils from the 2026 cohort are heading to Oxbridge, while 22 have secured places to study medicine.
As part of the school’s expansion plans, MCS is preparing to build a new Science, Library and Partnerships building.
A spokeswoman said the new building will offer an exciting opportunity to reimagine the senior school site as staff look ahead to full co-education.
She added earlier: “With a vision to create a sector-leading science building in the centre of Oxford, the development will enable us to support an ambitious and forward-looking science curriculum, expanding to the emerging and rapidly advancing areas of robotics, AI and Big Data.”
Holding banners which read ‘For f**k’s sake, just stop oil’, the demonstrators took to the road in Parliament Square at noon today (Wednesday, September 2).
This was as Andy Burnham faced his first Prime Minister’s Questions, and many of the protestors glued themselves to the road.
The group demanded that the UK government stop approving all further oil and gas developments, and sign a Fossil Fuel Treaty to stop oil and gas extraction.
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Just Stop Oil say that the police are expected to arrest all those blocking the road, and that one lane has been left free of glued-on action takers to permit access for emergency vehicles.
Andy Burnham is due to make a decision on whether to allow more drilling for oil and gas in the North Sea.
Reverend James Crote, a Baptist Minister and grandfather from Chesterton near Bicester, said: “Today is my grandson’s first birthday. I have to take action for the sake of his future.
The 69-year-old added: “The government has been dilly-dallying about whether to say yes or no to the Rosebank oil field but, if we want a future for our children, there is no choice – it has to say ‘no’.
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“I am here as a Christian Minister because the Church has to speak out and demand that the government stops approving further oil and gas developments now. It’s time for us all to say ‘For God’s sake, Just Stop Oil’.”
Data from the Met Office indicates that 2026 was the hottest summer in UK recorded history, beating 2025, which was the previous hottest summer on record.
2026 was also one of the driest summers on record, delivering record-low food harvests.
Climbing temperatures have triggered wildfires across the country, and national fire chiefs said the wildfire risk facing the UK is “like nothing we have seen before”.
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Taking action, grandmother Victoria Ann Lynch-Staunton from Leamington Spa, said: “What is happening is beyond a tragedy.”
The 71-year-old added: “I beg everyone to join Just Stop Oil or governments will continue to prioritise endless growth and corporate profit over billions of lives – yours and your children.
“Wake up and smell the coffin. It is the responsibility of all of us to act now!”
A Just Stop Oil spokesperson said today: “We are all Just Stop Oil.
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“Every single person who fears deadly wildfires, devastating droughts, and spiralling food shortages is Just Stop Oil.
“The first duty of government is to keep the public safe – but by greenlighting oil and gas drilling, they endanger our survival while corporates and billionaires laugh their way to the bank.
“Every one of us feels alone and powerless in the face of this insanity, but we know there is massive political and public support for our demand.
“So we’re inviting everyone to join us at an online call on 3rd October 2026 – because it’s when we work together that we are powerful and win.”
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