Oxford News
Thousands could be caught by DWP disability benefit shake-up
Charities have warned that proposed changes to disability benefits could leave thousands of young people struggling to make ends meet, as they urged ministers to abandon what they called “punitive” approaches to welfare reform.
More than 40 organisations, including Action for Children, Shelter, the Trussell Trust, Scope, Save the Children and Barnardo’s, have written to Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden and welfare adviser Alan Milburn.
The groups said they accepted that the welfare system needed reform but argued that changes should focus on helping young people into education, training and work rather than cutting financial support.
The warning centres on a proposal first put forward for consultation under the previous government which would delay access to the health element of Universal Credit until claimants reach the age of 22.
Figures showed there were 66,000 people aged 18 to 21 in the Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity category in September 2024.
Research by disability charity Scope has estimated that 94% of households with a young person under 22 receiving the Universal Credit health element would be in poverty if the support was removed.
Almost half – 49% – of those households are already living in poverty, according to the analysis, while removing the benefit from existing claimants could push another 45% below the poverty line.
The charities said that by March, 184,000 people aged 16 to 24 across the UK were receiving the Universal Credit health element.
They warned these young people can have severe and complex needs, including multiple physical and mental health conditions, while some also face poverty, homelessness and childhood trauma.
For families caring for young people at home, the benefit can help cover living costs and care arrangements, while those living independently or in supported accommodation may rely on it for basic expenses.
The charities also warned that some claimants are in education and could struggle to remain there if their income was cut.
DWP is about to roll out a huge change to PIP decisions, before they’ve even checked if it’s safe. Please sign before it’s too late: https://t.co/x4xEVP5ebV
— Ellen Marie 75 🦋 (@jaysmyweakness) August 26, 2026
Lucy Schonegevel, from Action for Children, said: “If ministers want better outcomes for disabled young people, the evidence points to earlier intervention, tailored support and genuinely meaningful job and volunteering opportunities, not sanctions or cuts.”
James Taylor, from Scope, said: “Any cuts to the health element of universal credit will only push more young disabled people into poverty, not jobs.”
He added: “It won’t remove the barriers they face getting into and staying in work, such as inaccessible recruitment, negative attitudes or a lack of tailored support.”
The intervention comes after Prime Minister Andy Burnham ruled out “crude cuts” to benefits but said the Government needed to “get really serious” about reducing the welfare bill.
He has also said young people have been “quite seriously let down” by a lack of support into work and indicated he wanted to increase the conditions attached to benefits.
The charities said: “Cutting benefits worsens health and deepens poverty, while strict conditionality and sanctions is particularly counterproductive and harmful for disabled people.”
A Government spokesperson said ministers wanted young people to fulfil their potential through education, training or work.
They said the Government was pressing ahead with major youth employment reforms aimed at creating almost one million opportunities, alongside a £2.5 billion youth employment support package.
Recommended reading :
The Government has also commissioned Alan Milburn to examine the barriers preventing young people from entering work, with his final report expected in the autumn.
The row comes as Reform UK separately unveiled plans for long-term benefit claimants to clean up their local high streets or risk losing benefits.
The party’s Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick said the proposals formed part of a wider package of welfare changes which he claimed could cut £50 billion from the benefits
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.
READ MORE: UK private school headteacher to leave after 11 years
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.
READ MORE: Witney firefighters called out to over 50 incidents in one month
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’.
READ MORE: Chain closes almost 200 UK restaurants with close to 4,000 jobs lost
“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”.
READ MORE: Broadchurch star selling £1.8m ‘magical’ Cotswolds mill house after 60 years
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.
READ MORE: The Grand Tour returns to screens with brand new trio this week
“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.”
Oxford United player ratings in bizarre Mansfield Town draw
Number of cloned number plates on UK roads at record high, data shows | Transport
LIVE: Mansfield Town 1-1 Oxford United – Two red cards as U's down to nine men
-
Oxford united FC4 weeks agoChris Gunter steps away Wales role to focus on Oxford United
-
Oxford University3 weeks agoNew to the Oxford English Dictionary this September
-
Oxford united FC1 week agoLIVE: Exeter City vs Oxford United – Jersey Mike's Trophy group stage
-
Traffic & Transport2 weeks agoHow poor public transport policy is putting the brake on cities | Road transport
-
Student Life3 weeks agoOxford partnership allows OpenAI to use rare Bodleian texts to train ChatGPT
-
Traffic & Transport2 weeks agoWhy should I have to pay more for buses if I don’t use a smartphone? | Bus fares
-
Oxford united FC2 weeks agoNorthern Ireland fans laud Oxford United defender Ciaron Brown
-
Oxford Events4 weeks agoFour days of equestrian spectacle at 2026 Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials