Early evening summary
Russia has announced that it is imposing a travel ban on 30 Britons it deems anti-Russian, including 15 cabinet ministers. (See 5.02pm.) The announcement came after a British diplomat was expelled from Moscow for allegedly spying – a charge the UK government has dismissed as baseless. (See 4.29pm.)
Campaigners, charities and thinktanks have broadly welcomed proposals in the government’s Get Britain Working white paper to boost employment – but warned that the positive impact of the plans could be undermined by benefit cuts expected to be confirmed at some point in the future. (See 11.17am and 5.54pm.)
Updated
Charities and thinktanks welcome employment white paper, but express concern about future disability benefit cuts
At the weekend Keir Starmer wrote an article for the Mail on Sunday about his plans for employment and welfare reform. It generated perhaps the first ever positive headline he has received in the paper, not because it included a vague reference to his plans to devolve some aspects of employment policy to local government (see 12.22pm and 2.46pm), but because Starmer said he would cut welfare spending.
The Mail on Sunday: STARMER DECLARES WAR ON BENEFITS BRITAIN #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/fT2jynJsgh
— George Mann (@sgfmann) November 23, 2024
In fact, most of Starmer’s article was about the value of work, but it included this passage that secured him the splash.
No more business as usual.
We must go further. That’s why, in the coming months, Mail on Sunday readers will see even more sweeping changes.
Because, make no mistake, we will get to grips with the bulging benefits bill blighting our society.
And don’t get me wrong – we will crack down hard on anyone who tries to game the system, to tackle fraud so we can take cash straight from the banks of fraudsters. There will be a zero-tolerance approach to these criminals.
Today’s Get Britain Working white paper says almost nothing about these implied benefit cuts. But a lot of decisions about disability benefits have been postponed, and the government is still committed to obtaining savings from changes to the work capability assessment first announced by the Tories (although how those savings are obtained may change). Charities and thinktanks, while broadly positive about what has been announced today, have expressed concern about what is coming down the track. Here are some of their comments.
Mark Rowland, chief executive of the Mental Health Foundation, welcomed the approach taken by the white paper. He said.
For too long, the discussion around enabling people who are too unwell to work to return to the workplace has been toxic and unrelated to the real experiences of people in receipt of benefits. Our own research shows that people on low incomes in the UK experience poverty stigma, which is associated with worse mental health. We’re pleased to see the ‘Get Britain Working’ white paper – and the language of government spokespeople talking about this announcement - suggest a departure from this narrative.
This seems a reference to interviews like Alison McGovern’s this morning. (See 10.07am.)
But Rowland also said there were “worrying” elments in the white paper.
References in the white paper to sanctions remain worrying, and the wait to hear about changes to the work capability assessment will be concerning for many, so we urge the government to publish their proposals for the welfare system as soon as possible.
James Taylor, director of strategy at the disability equality charity Scope, said:
There much that is positive about this white paper. The Connect to Work scheme and a desire to enhance the role of employers are both promising developments.
But we still know there’s still a huge amount of anxiety about what changes the government is planning to make to the benefits system.
Disabled people fear being forced into unsuitable jobs, or losing benefits if they engage with employment services. This lack of trust could seriously undermine the government’s plans to boost employment.
Iain Porter, senior solicy adviser at Joseph Rowntree Foundation thinktank, said
The white paper is an important first step towards rebooting the relationship between employment services and disabled people away from a culture of blaming and shaming and towards genuinely supporting people back to work.
Many of the reforms announced today are rightly focused on tackling the root causes holding people back from decent work including by encouraging employers to recruit and retain disabled people and intervene early to help people stay in work.
However, these positive first steps risk being undermined by the government’s commitment to £3bn of cuts to the health and disability benefits budget, if this simply comes from removing support for disabled people. Putting arbitrary cost savings ahead of effective reforms leaves a cloud of uncertainty hanging over the disabled people on low incomes who rely on health and disability benefits.
And Tom Pollard, head of social policy at the New Economics Foundation thinktank, said:
The high number of people out of work due to disabilities and poor health is symptomatic of long-term government failure to help people to stay well and, where possible, in work, so it is welcome to see new government plans today to improve support …
If the government is going to fulfil its ambition of delivering more effective employment support, it must resist pressure to focus on short-term savings or being ‘tough’ on people on benefits.
Updated
The Russian embassy in the UK says hostility towards Vladimir Putin in this country is irrational. It has posted this on social media.
Irrational hostility towards Russia is promoted as dogma by the UK political and media mainstream, expected to be swallowed by the British public without scrutiny or critical analysis.
Notably absent from public discourse is any examination of the potential connection between London’s leading role in escalating the conflict in Ukraine and the growing sense of insecurity among British citizens, even when this insecurity is based on questionable premises.
Readers won’t need reminding that there are countless reasons why outrage at the conduct of the Russian government is well founded.
The National Autistic Society says it hopes today’s Get Britain Working white paper will make a difference for autistic people. Mel Merritt, the charity’s head of policy and campaigns, said:
Only 30% of autistic people are in work, the lowest of any disability. This shouldn’t be the case. Most autistic people can and want to work but face multiple barriers in finding and progressing in employment. We hope today’s reforms will close the unacceptable autism employment gap and genuinely remove these barriers.
The Department for Work and Pensions has now published the 68-page white paper. It has also released an analytical annex, and data tables.
Full list of British ministers and MPs subject to new travel ban by Russia
The Russian foreign ministry has published the list of 30 Britons subject to a travel ban.
It says:
The Russian foreign ministry is once again forced to draw attention to the incessant aggressive anti-Russian rhetoric of the British authorities, the illegitimate unilateral restrictions systematically introduced by London against our country, as well as the thoughtless policy of the leadership of this country to support the neo-Nazi Kyiv regime, pursuing purely selfish geopolitical interests and leading to a senseless prolongation of the Ukrainian conflict.
Russophobic policies, which combine attempts to discredit Russia’s actions and isolate it in the international arena, the dissemination of disinformation about our country, including in the context of a special military operation, coupled with military support for the Ukrainian armed forces, bordering on the direct involvement of Great Britain in the conflict with all the accompanying escalation risks, indicate London’s attitude towards further systemic confrontation with respect to Russia.
And here are the 20 political figures on the list, as set out on the foreign ministry’s website. They are now banned from entering Russia because of their alleged anti-Russian activities.
1) Angela RAYNER, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Housing, Communities and Local Government;
2) Yvette COOPER, Minister of the Interior;
3) Shabana MAHMOOD, Lord Chancellor and Minister of Justice;
4) Rachel Jane REEVES, Minister of Finance;
5) Patrick Bosco MCFADDEN, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster;
6) Edward Samuel MILIBAND, Minister for Energy Security and Carbon Neutrality;
7) Wesley Paul William STREETING, Minister of Health;
8) Steven Mark Ward REED, Minister for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs;
9) Jonathan Neil REYNOLDS, UK Secretary of State for Enterprise and Trade, Chairman of the UK Board of Trade;
10) Elizabeth Louise KENDALL, Minister for Work and Pensions;
11) Bridget Maeve PHILLIPSON, Minister of Education;
12) Hilary James Wedgwood BENN, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland;
13) Joanna Meriel STEVENS, Secretary of State for Wales;
14) Lucy Maria POWELL, Leader of the House of Commons of the British Parliament and Lord President of the Privy Council;
15) Angela Evans SMITH, Baroness Smith of Basildon, Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal;
16) Maria EAGLE, Deputy Minister of Defence;
17) Benjamin William JUDAH, Adviser to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs;
18) Gurinder Singh JOSAN, Labour MP in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament;
19) John Derek TWIGG, Labour MP in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament;
20) Andrew James SNOWDEN, Conservative MP in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom;
The other 10 people on the list are business, military and media figures.
A ban of this sort may look like a hostile act, but it will have almost no practical impact. It is not likely that any of the people on the list were planning a trip to Russia in the foreseeable future anyway.
Foreign Office travel advice advises against “all travel to Russia due to the risks and threats from its continuing invasion of Ukraine, including: security incidents, such as drone attacks, in parts of the country; lack of flights to return to the UK; [and] limited ability for the UK government to provide support”.
The owner of Vauxhall has announced that it plans to close its van factory at Luton, in a decision that will put 1,100 jobs at risk of cuts or moving location, Jasper Jolly reports.
Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, has described this as a “very difficult day for Luton”, PA Media reports.
This is from Steve Rosenberg, the BBC’s Russia editor, reflecting on today’s developments in UK-Russia relations.
This was a day that reflected the current state of UK-Russian relations, i.e. very bad:
· UK diplomat expelled;
· Several UK cabinet ministers barred from Russia;
· Russian court accuses British citizen of taking part in “armed hostilities” on the territory of Kursk region.
Updated
No 10 rejects Russian claim that British diplomat expelled from Moscow was spy
Downing Street has denied allegations the UK diplomat kicked out of Russia was a spy. Speaking at the afternoon lobby briefing, a No 10 spokesperson said:
To be clear, we refute these allegations. They’re baseless. We’re now considering our response.
Downing Street said it would not pre-empt what the UK’s response might be, when asked if a tit-for-tat expulsion would occur.
The spokesperson said:
This is not the first time that [Vladimir] Putin’s government has made malicious, baseless accusations against our staff.
You’ll remember that the Kremlin baselessly curtailed the accreditation of six UK diplomats in Russia earlier this year following action taken by the UK government in response to the Russian state directing activity across Europe and in the UK.
Today’s announcement is no surprise coming from President Putin’s government, which has overseen an illegal war in Ukraine.
The UK government is unapologetic about protecting our national interests and will now respond in due course, and our embassy in Moscow will continue its important work in Russia to support UK interests.
The government has said it is “determined” to ensure earlier intervention for children with special educational needs (Send) after a report found that the crisis in provision has left children vulnerable to exploitation.
Research funded by the Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre found a “high proportion” of cases of child sexual exploitation, internal trafficking and modern slavery involve children with Send.
In a statement provided to the Guardian in response to the report’s findings, a government spokesperson said:
Every child and young person deserves the opportunity to achieve and thrive, and we’re determined to ensure there is earlier intervention for children with Send and a greater focus on mainstream provision.
All schools must follow statutory safeguarding guidance, which highlights how some children are more vulnerable to abuse and harm than others, including those with Send.
We are committed to tackling exploitation and are continuing funding for a prevention programme run by the Children’s Society which targets and prevents child abuse in its different forms.
The government says it recognises the ‘immense need’ in the sector, providing almost a £1bn increase in high-needs funding for 2025-2026 to help local authorities with the increasing costs of supporting children and young people with education and healthcare plans.
The Labour manifesto committed to introduce a new offence of criminal exploitation of children, and the Independent Child Trafficking Guardian (ICTG) service has been rolled out to two thirds of local authorities in England and Wales to provide “an additional source of advice and support for potential child victims of modern slavery, regardless of nationality or immigration status, to ensure the child is protected from further harm, prevent possible repeat victimisation, re-trafficking or going missing, and to promote the child’s recovery”, the government has said.
Jonathan Reynolds, the business secrtary, and Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, are also among the 30 British citizens subject to a travel ban by Russia (see 4.04pm), PA Media reports.
The Russian ministry said it was putting members of the UK’s political and military establishment as well as journalists on its “stop list”, PA says.
Russia imposes travel ban on cabinet ministers, saying it's retaliation for 'Russophobic' policies
Russia has banned a string of Britain’s cabinet ministers from entering the country in response to what it called London’s “Russophobic” policies, the Associated Press news agency reports.
Among those it was targeting included chancellor Rachel Reeves, deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, home secretary Yvette Cooper and more than a dozen other senior politicians in the new Labour government, AP says.
Updated
It’s Andrew Sparrow, picking up again from Sammy Gecsoyler.
The former prime minister Tony Blair is evangelical about the possible benefits of using technology more effectively in healthcare and, in a statement on today’s Get Britain Working white paper, his thinktank, the Tony Blair Institute (TBI), says the government could save more than £10bn a year by making workers healthier.
In a statement TBI said:
The key to getting Britain back to work is to keep our working age population healthy for longer. This means shifting to preventative-health measures, made possible by advances in screening, digital tools and early interventions.
TBI estimates that even a 20% reduction in the incidence of six major disease categories that are keeping people out of work – cancer, cardiovascular disease (CVD), chronic respiratory illness, diabetes and mental-health and musculoskeletal disorders – would have significant macroeconomic benefits. A comprehensive programme of preventative medicine could raise GDP by an estimated 0.74% within five years – an annual boost of £19.8bn – and by 0.98% within ten years, equating to £26.3bn annually. Annual fiscal savings from increased tax revenues and reduced benefit payments could amount to £10.2bn and £13.0bn by 2030 and 2035, respectively.
The evidence is undeniable - shifting healthcare towards prevention would save lives and save money.
Kendall tries to reassure MPs worried about impact of reforms on disabled people
In the Commons, Liz Kendall is facing more questions about the newly announced Get Britain Working white paper.
Kirsty Blackman, the SNP MP for Aberdeen North, asked:
Many disabled or ill people were terrified by the Tories’ proposals to cut £3bn from the sickness benefit.
Given that Labour are continuing along this cut, will the secretary of state today promise to sign up to the principle of ‘nothing about us without us’, and ensure that disabled people, those with ill health and those with lived experience of these systems are round the table?
Kendall said:
We do need change. I understand how worried people are when they hear about change, but they themselves I think would also say the change needs to happen.
Nadia Whittome, the Labour MP for Nottingham East, told the Commons:
Barriers to employment and a lack of workplace support for disabled people remain persistent challenges, as well as inadequate social security payments for everyone regardless of employment status. Can [Kendall] reassure disabled people that the government’s new support measures will not be conditional on being able to work?
Kendall said:
I understand why disabled people, when they hear talk about helping people into work or reforms to sickness and disability benefits, why they’re worried because of what happened over the last 14 years, we are determined to break down those barriers to work.
I think many disabled people, given the right help and support and the right flexibility to work, could work and want to work.
Updated
John Swinney to urge Scotland to 'pull together in spirit of collaboration' ahead of Scottish budget
The Scottish government is coming under pressure from all sides ahead of its budget next Wednesday.
On Monday, the UK Treasury was briefing it was offering a further £300m to the SNP government to cover the rise in employer national insurance contributions for public sector staff – but the Scottish finance secretary Shona Robison has warned this is not enough, estimating that at least £500m is required to pay for staff directly employed in the public sector.
This adds to the squeeze on Scotland’s finances, which are already under severe constraints because of public sector pay deals – making up almost half of the budget – and rising inflation.
Meanwhile a new campaign group of 50 civil society groups is urging first minister John Swinney to make bold reforms to Scotland’s tax system, calling on him to increase wealth taxes and scrap the outdated council tax – which remains frozen, putting local authority budgets under extreme pressure too.
Indeed, new research out today from Local Government Information Unit Scotland reveals that 70% of all councils believe they will be unable to pass a balanced budget within the next five years without immediate changes.
Tomorrow Swinney delivers a keynote speech ahead of the budget calling on the country to “pull together in the spirit of collaboration” – but as cuts bite and with more coming down the line that goodwill he seeks will be thin on the ground.
Updated
Kendall says some funding and powers to tackle unemployment being devolved to local government
Back in the Commons, Liz Kendall, the work and pensions secretary, said the government wants to “drive down” economic inactivity caused by poor health, adding work is under way but ministers want to go “much further and faster to tackle this issue”.
She told the Commons:
To meet the scale of the challenge, we will devolve new funding, new powers and new responsibilities to tackle economic inactivity to mayors and local areas because local leaders know their communities best.
We’ll support all areas in England to produce local ‘Get Britain Working’ plans, joining up work, health and skills support. Today I’m announcing eight trailblazer areas backed by £125m of additional funding in South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, the north-east, Greater Manchester, Wales, York and North Yorkshire, and two Greater London areas.
In three of these areas – South and West Yorkshire and the north-east - this will include dedicated input and £45m of funding for local NHS integrated care systems.
And we’re funding a new supported employment programme called ‘Connect to Work’ backed by £115m of initial funding for next year. This will be included in the integrated settlements for combined authorities, starting with Greater Manchester and the West Midlands.
Updated
Starmer in 'listening mode' at unpublicised meeting with farmers union, NFU head says
Keir Starmer has held a meeting at Downing Street with the head of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) to discuss continued worries among farmers about changes to inheritance tax announced in the budget.
While the government still has no plans to offer any concessions over the changes, the NFU president, Tom Bradshaw, said the prime minister “was very much in listening mode”, and that he hoped ministers could still change course.
The meeting, held on Monday but not publicised by No 10, came six days after thousands of farmers gathered in central London to protest against the decision to levy inheritance tax on some farms for the first time.
Previously, farmland had not been subject to inheritance tax, with ministers saying this has often been used as a tax loophole by wealthy people who buy up agricultural plots. Under the new plans, from April 2026, farmland worth more than £1m will be taxed at 20%, half the usual inheritance tax rate.
Last week, Bradshaw called the tax a “stab in the back” for the sector, saying: “I don’t think I have ever seen the industry this angry, this disillusioned, this upset.”
In a video update to members after the meeting with Starmer, Bradshaw took a more measured tone, while saying he had still pressed the case over the tax changes. He said:
The PM was very much in listening mode, and I hope that he’s able to act on what he’s heard this afternoon, and really understand that when we talk about the very real human impacts.
When we talk about the viability of our family farms, the low returns from producing the country’s food, these are all conversations that we’ve picked up this afternoon.
Saying the conversation also took in food security and trade deals, he added: “The prime minister engaged with us and made time to hear our story. And I really hope this marks a moment where we can move forwards and get to an outcome that works for everyone.”
Updated
2.8m out of work due to long-term sickness, says Kendall
Kendall told the Commons that 2.8 million people are out of work due to long-term sickness, and almost one million young people are not in education, employment or training.
She said the situation is “far worse in parts of the country - in the Midlands and the North - that were deindustrialised in the 80s and 90s, the very same places that have lower life expectancy and chronic poor health, areas which the party opposite [the Conservatives] repeatedly promised to level up, but repeatedly failed to deliver”.
She continued:
And the result is an economic but above all social crisis, paid for in the life chances and living standards of people right across this country, and by a benefits bill for sickness and disability that is set to rise by £26bn by the end of this parliament.
Updated
Tories accuse Labour of 'pinching our ideas' with jobs plan
Helen Whately, the shadow works and pensions secretary, accused Kendall of “pinching our ideas”.
Responding to Kendall’s statement in the Commons, Whatley said her government counterpart had rebranded the WorkWell programme, which was introduced under the Conservatives, “as her own Connect to Work scheme”.
She said:
Far from being cross that the government is pinching our ideas, I welcome the right honourable lady taking our work forwards and that she’s making the right noises about how important this is to fix economic inactivity, which is a big problem for our economy and for each and every individual who risks being written off to a life on benefits.
I am disappointed in the substance of what she is announcing today, because far from matching her rhetoric, this appears to be little more than a pot of money for local councils, some disparaging language about the work of jobcentres and a consultation which will be launched in the spring. Given that they have had 14 years to prepare for this moment, where are the reforms to benefits which will actually make material savings to the taxpayer? Like the £12bn we committed to save in our manifesto. Where are the reforms to fit notes which we had handed over already to go?
Where is her plan for reforming the workplace capability assessment? She has banked the £3bn savings from our plan but fails to set out her own and her big announcement on making benefits for young people conditional. Did she forget that they already are? The fact is, the secretary of state has dodged the tough decisions every day she kicks the can down the road.
Updated
Young people 'have a responsibility' to take new opportunities, Kendall tells MPs
Work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall has begun her statement in the Commons outlining the Get Britain Working white paper.
She told the Commons that young people “have a responsibility” to take up new opportunities. She said:
This comes alongside our commitment to provide mental health support in every school, our work experience and careers advice offer, and our plans to reform the last government’s failed apprenticeship levy to give more young people the opportunities they deserve.
But our new Youth Guarantee will go further, bringing together all the support for 18 to 21-year-olds under the leadership of mayors and local areas so all young people have access to education, training and employment opportunities, and so that no young person misses out.
She announced eight Youth Guarantee “trailblazers” in the Liverpool City Region, West Midlands, Tees Valley, East Midlands, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, West of England, and two areas in Greater London, backed by £45m. (See 12.22pm.) She continued:
I can also announce a new national partnership to provide exciting opportunities for young people in sports, arts and culture, starting with some of Britain’s most iconic cultural and sporting organisations including the Premier League, the Royal Shakespeare Company, and Channel 4, building on the brilliant work they already do to inspire and engage the younger generation and get them on the pathway to success.
Kendall later said:
In return for these new opportunities, you have a responsibility to take them up, because being unemployed or lacking basic qualifications when you’re young can harm your job prospects and wages for the rest of your life, and that is not good enough for young people or for our country.
Her measures were reported ahead of her Commons statement.
Updated
Paul Brand from ITV News says he thinks turnout for the assisted dying debate on Friday will be particularly high.
Think turnout on Friday will be unusually high for a private members bill.
I had wondered whether undecided/unsure MPs would stay away. But I’m hearing that many feel - because the issue has punched through so significantly - that they can’t hide from and have to vote.
Liz Kendall, the work and pensions secretary, is just starting her statement about the Get Britain Working white paper. My colleague Sammy Gecsoyler is taking over for a bit, but I will be back later.
Cross-party group of MPs call for assisted dying bill to be voted down to allow full review of policy options
Seven backbench MPs have signed an amendment to the second reading motion for the assisted dying bill, which is being debated on Friday, saying the bill should be shelved to allow a proper review of the policy. They call for “a fully-informed debate and vote on assisted dying, which should be subsequent to an independent review of and public consultation on the existing law and proposals for change”.
The amendment has been signed by two Conservative MPs (Ben Spencer and John Lamont), four Labour MPs ( Anna Dixon, Polly Billington, Josh Fenton-Glynn and Uma Kumaran) and one Lib Dem one (Munira Wilson).
MPs are unlikely to be allowed to get a chance to vote on this amendment. But the fact that it has been tabled is significant, because it suggests there is growing support in the Commons for some sort of pause to the legislation, and for a proper, government-led review of policy in this areas. Even MPs in favour of assisted dying worry that the private members’ bill procedures in the Commons do not allow enough time for scrutiny for a social change as significant as this one, and last week the former Labour MP Ed Balls suggested that the best option might be for the vote to be pulled on Friday, and for the government to launch a review instead. In a blog earlier this month David Natzler, a former clerk to the Commons, said MPs should come to a decision at second reading – but that after that a government-led review might be the best way forward.
No 10 mystified as to why Boris Johnson seems to think archbishop of Canterbury partly to blame for obesity crisis
Downing Street lobby briefings can often end up sounding like the Sky News papers review, and this morning the PM’s spokesperson was also asked about a report in the Times by Steven Swinford about Boris Johnson’s latest thoughts on the reasons for Britain’s obesity problems. Johnson, the former PM, sounded off in evidence given to an inquiry on food policy backed by the charities Nesta and Impact on Urban Health. The report was out yesterday.
Summing up Johnson’s reasoning (no easy feat), Swinford says:
Boris Johnson has blamed the Church of England for Britain’s obesity crisis, saying that its failure to provide people with the “spiritual sustenance” they need was leading people to “gorge themselves”.
The former prime minister said that when he was younger it was “very rare for there to be a fatso in the class. Now they’re all fatsos, and I’d be shot for saying they’re fatsos, but it’s the truth.”
He criticised the Most Rev Justin Welby and other religious leaders for going on about slavery reparations rather than addressing “people’s spiritual needs”.
Asked if Keir Starmer agreed that Welby was in part to blame for the obesity crisis, the PM’s spokesperson said: “I didn’t quite follow [Johnson’s] line of argument.”
But the government is taking action to deal with the obesity problem, he added.
Watchdog refuses to sign off UK public sector accounts over unreliable data
The government’s entire public sector financial accounts are not fit for purpose, the official audit watchdog has said after the collapse of the “red flag” system that scrutinises billions of pounds of spending in local government. Patrick Butler and Michael Goodier report:
The National Audit Office (NAO) said it was impossible to sign off the government’s latest public spending figures as accurate because of the unreliability of financial data relating to hundreds of councils and police and fire authorities.
The NAO’s unprecedented decision to “disclaim” the government’s accounts comes amid warnings that the chronic inadequacy of the council audit system – seen as an “early warning” indicator of financial failure or wrongdoing – could result in more councils going bust.
Just one in 10 local authorities submitted reliable formal accounts of their spending in 2022-23. Of the remaining 90%, half failed to submit any financial data at all and half submitted accounts that had not been audited, the NAO said.
Here is the full story.
No 10 knocks down story claiming extra bank holiday planned for 80th anniversary of VE day next year
This morning the Daily Express splashed on a story claiming the government would announce extra bank holidays to mark the 80th anniversary of end of the second world war next year.
EXPRESS: Bank holiday thank you to nation’s heroes #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/wPnBEjVYmc
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) November 25, 2024
Someone’s had a duff steer. At the Downing Street lobby briefing this morning the PM’s spokesperson said that, while there will be special events to mark the 80th anniversary of VE (Victory in Europe) day next year, “these plans do not include an additional bank holiday”.
Russia expels British diplomat for espionage
Russia has expelled a British diplomat, accusing him of espionage. Yohannes Lowe has more on our Ukraine war live blog.
Under the Get Britain Working plans announced today, eight areas in England will get funding for “inactivity trailblazers”. One of them is Greater Manchester, which will get £10m for its Working Well employment scheme, which it describes as “one of the top national programmes for job outcomes” and which is part of Greater Manchester’s Live Well wellbeing initiative.
Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, who has long called for mayors to have more power over employment policy, said:
For people to be working well, they have to be living well – and the current job support system cannot do that with a narrow, box-ticking focus.
Greater Manchester has already got a proven track record of helping people back into work. Our focus is on names and not numbers, and on providing a more empowering, more supportive experience within the community.
This trailblazer will enable us to build on strong foundations and develop Live Well on a bigger scale, so we can tackle the root causes of inequality and help more people get good jobs here in our city-region.
There is a full briefing on the Working Well programme here.
Record number of English bathing sites classified as having poor water quality
Water quality has been designated as poor in a record number of bathing areas this year after 16 rivers were included in summer testing for harmful bacteria, Sandra Laville reports. Sandra writes:
The push to clean up England’s rivers has led to a spike in demand for bathing water status at river locations across the country. Rivers suffer from water company sewage pollution and agricultural pollution, and the results show river water quality is distinctly worse than that of coastal bathing sites. The results come after sewage pollution into rivers by water companies reached record levels last year.
This year, 16 river areas were designated as bathing water sites out 27 new areas, which meant they were tested for harmful bacteria, E coli and intestinal enterococci.
Across the country, 450 locations have bathing water status and are tested during the summer season, from May to September. This year a record number of areas – 37, or 8.2% – did not meet the minimum standards for bathing waters, and were classified as poor.
Of the 27 new bathing water sites tested, 18 were classified as having “poor” water quality, most of which were rivers. There was a marked difference between river areas and coastal waters, with 95% of coastal waters meeting minimum standards, compared with just over half – 53% – of inland sites.
Here is the full story.
Here are the figures from the Department for Environment, Food And Rural Affairs.
Here is a chart illustrating the figures.
Commenting on the figures, Tim Farron, the Lib Dem environment spokesperson, said:
It is truly shocking to see just how many swimming spots are rated as poor water quality, enough is enough, this scandal must end.
People are rightly furious at water companies who continue to pump outrageous amounts of sewage into our rivers and seas and a previous Conservative government that let this scandal spiral with no consequences for those responsible.
For the Lib Dems, water quality has become a key campaigning issue.
Here is some more business reaction to the Get Britain Working white paper.
This is from Jane Gratton, deputy director for public police at the British Chambers of Commerce.
Today’s white paper – with its emphasis on improving access to health, skills and employment support – has the potential to make a real difference for employers, employees and local economies.
Our research shows only 1 in 10 SMEs are using jobcentres and this is a lost opportunity. It’s crucial to modernise the service to better connect businesses and job seekers.
The high number of working age people who are economically inactive though ill health is a particular concern for employers. We look forward to engaging with the review into how employers can be supported to promote healthy and inclusive workplaces. Tax reforms would make it easier for employers to take a proactive role.
And this is from Neil Carberry, chief executive of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation.
I agree with a lot of stuff in the white paper, but the employment rate is 74.8%. This is about supporting a jobs market that is already dynamic by increasing the flow from inactivity. A good way of doing that is realising that the private sector is the engine of job growth..
Updated
There will be two statements in the Commons today after Foreign Office questions.
First, at 12.30pm, Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, will make a statement about the Cop29 climate conference.
And about an hour later Liz Kendall, the work and pensions secretary, will make a statement about the Get Britain Working white paper.
Last asylum seekers housed on Bibby Stockholm barge set to leave after government stops using it for accommodation
The last asylum seekers living on the Bibby Stockholm are set to leave the barge, PA Media reports. PA says:
A group of eight remaining men will leave the accommodation moored in Portland, Dorset, today, according to a support group.
A spokesperson for Portland Global Friendship Group told PA: “We held our last community drop-in yesterday. We have been saying goodbye to the men for months as there has been a continual movement since the men first arrived in August last year. We continue to support many asylum seekers nationwide from the Bibby Stockholm remotely as they navigate the complex asylum process.”
Hundreds of residents have departed from the barge after the government said it would not renew its contract which expires in January.
One asylum seeker previously told PA that “everyone was happy” that the barge accommodation was shutting down so that other people will be saved from going through the same experience on the ship he described as sometimes feeling like a prison.
Labour has said continuing the use of the Bibby Stockholm would have cost more than £20m next year, and that scrapping it forms part of the expected £7.7bn of savings in asylum costs over the next 10 years.
The asylum seekers accommodated on the barge, who were all men, were being dispersed to accommodation in places including Cardiff, Wolverhampton and Bristol, according to the BBC. None of them will be moved to the Dorset Council catchment, which includes the area around Portland and Weymouth.
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The Federation of Small Businesses applauds the ambition in the government’s Get Britain Working, but says that overcoming the “pervasive poverty of ambition” about employment in the public sector won’t be easy. This is from Tina McKenzie, the FSB’s policy chair.
This is a start – but only a start – in fixing the pervasive poverty of ambition in the Jobcentre, health and other state systems when it comes to getting people back into work. Increasing employment is ultimately the most sure-fire way to drive up living standards and economic growth.
Ministers have a huge job to persuade public institutions that work is good for health and that everyone who needs work should be helped to get a job or start-up in self-employment – not least getting rid of the idea that the only good work is in graduate jobs, the public sector or volunteering.
The ambition behind the 80 per cent employment target is both clear and important ..To deliver on this policy agenda, government and small businesses must work in partnership to drive real change through the whole employment system and make sure the country is helping those who most need work.
The TUC has also broadly welcomed the white paper, although it is also calling for proper investment in training and health support. This is from Paul Nowak, the TUC general secretary.
It is right to ensure that young people who are seeking work are helped to find a job or training. Positive early experiences in the jobs market are vital for young people’s future life chances. They must be supported to take part, not faced with self-defeating sanctions.
Success will also depend on ministers making the investment that’s needed in health services and quality training. Jobcentre staff must have a central role in redesigning their services, and devolution must never come at the cost of staff terms and conditions.
Employment experts welcome Get Britain Working white paper - but warn benefit reforms could undermine it
Employment specialists are broadly positive about the Get Britain Working white paper – or at least what they have read about it so far. Here is some reaction that has come in.
This is from Stephen Evans, chief executive at the Learning and Work Institute, a thinktank.
The government’s ambition for an 80% employment rate is the right one and our research shows it will benefit people, employers and the economy. More than three million people who are out of work want a job, but too often don’t get the right support. This white paper starts us on the path to change that. I’m particularly pleased to see the Youth Guarantee, which we have long called for. There can be few bigger priorities than ensuring young people get the education and careers they need.
This is from Becci Newton, director of public policy research at the Institute for Employment Studies, a consultancy.
The Get Britain Working white paper brings a welcome focus on overcoming worklessness and improving outcomes for young people and adults, and we are pleased that much of the proposed reform chimes with our own research for the Commission on the Future of Employment Support.
While not specific on the details yet, the white paper’s focus on rights and responsibilities brings a welcome return to a welfare system that meets young people halfway. We have seen success with the New Deal for Young People and the Activity Agreement Pilots for 16-17s under the former Labour government. The offer of careers support, tailoring to health and wellbeing and ensuring young people have the skills employers are looking for should be an attractive offer to motivate young people to get active.
And this is from Ben Harrison, director of the Work Foundation, a thinktank based at Lancaster University
Prioritising improvements to Jobcentres, the reforms rightly aim to make it easier for those out of work – whether claiming Universal Credit or not – to access tailored employment support, training and skills development. Ensuring that local decision-makers have the powers and funding to design and deliver more of this support will be key to ensuring interventions are better tailored to the needs of communities.
But Harrison also argues that these plans will only work if future changes to the benefit system, which are not spelt out today, do not undermine them. He explains:
Overall, the success of these measures will depend on wider changes to the benefits system to de-risk the journey back to employment. Government must ensure that those with long-term health issues are not inadvertently pushed into insecure and low-quality work which may only serve to worsen their condition in the long run. And it is critical that those with health conditions do not face the risk of losing their welfare entitlements should they attempt to return to the labour market and yet are unable to sustain work over the medium to long-term.
UK recently sent more Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine, before strikes against Russia
Britain recently supplied Ukraine with dozens more Storm Shadow missiles, according to a Bloomberg report by Alex Wickham. “The deliveries, which were not publicly announced, took place several weeks ago and were ordered after Kyiv ran low on the long-range missiles, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing security issues,” Wickham writes. The missiles were sent before the UK and the UK allowed Ukraine to use their long-range missiles to strike targets in Russia.
Asked about the report, which has been independently confirmed by the Guardian, the Ministry of Defence said:
We do not comment on operational detail, to do so would only benefit Putin.
The UK’s support for Ukraine is ironclad, that’s why we have committed to providing £3bn in military aid for as long as it takes and have trained more than 50,000 Ukrainian military recruits.
Former lord chief justice argues assisted dying bill flawed because it does not fully explain legal scrutiny process
A former lord chief justice has argued that there is a serious gap in the assisted dying bill that will be debated in the Commons on Friday.
The terminally ill adults (end of life) bill, introduced by the Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, would allow a terminally ill person to get help from a doctor to end their life, provided that two doctors and then a judge agree that they are making a “clear, settled and informed” decision.
But the legislation does not spell out in detail what the process would be for the judge to approve that decision – what evidence they would have to consider, and who would present it – and in an interview with the Today programme this morning Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd said this was a problem.
Thomas, who as lord chief justice between 2013 and 2017 was head of the judiciary in England and Wales, told the programme that he was not speaking as a supporter or opponent of the bill, and that he could see the arguments on both sides.
But he said the lack of detail in the bill about how the judicial process would work meant it was not clear what impact it would have on courts.
He said “the process and the impact on the court system is really something about which there should be information before we decide in principle to proceed”. He explained:
It seems to me that the one really difficult question that hasn’t been addressed in this is how is the judge to proceed, as it cannot possibly be a rubber-stamping exercise.
There has to be a process, by which the evidence is put before the judge, and the judge will need help – will need either the official solicitor or some other body that can bring the evidence before him.
What is not possible is to assess from the bill the impact this has …
As far as I can see, no one has grappled with the detail. And of course, as it’s an integral part of the bill, you can’t say, ‘well, look, this is to be sorted out later’. It seems to me it needs to be grappled with now.
The government has not yet published an impact assessment for the bill, which would explain the effect it would have on public services and how much implementation would cost. Opponents of the bill, and constitutional experts (like the law professor Mark Elliott, in this blog) have criticised the government for this. Downing Street has suggested, if the bill passes at second reading, an impact assessment would be published later in the parliamentary process.
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Alison McGovern, the employment minister, said this morning she still has not decided how she will vote on the assisted dying private member’s bill on Friday. MPs have a free vote.
Explaining her dilemma, McGovern said:
I haven’t decided how I’m going to vote. I’ve listened to my constituents who have been so kind and so generous to share with me their experiences, and I want to listen to my colleagues in the debate in full and decide how to vote.”
I think it’s so important that people are able to have a good death and that families feel that their loved one was able to die in the most peaceful way possible in accordance with their views, but I haven’t decided on this issue.
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Minister says blaming people for their poor mental health won't be part of Labour's plan to boost employment
Alison McGovern, the employment minister, was on interview round duty on behalf of the government this morning, talking mostly about the Get Britain Working white paper. Here are the main lines from what she said.
McGovern said it was good that people are more open about their mental health and she refused to blame people for not working on mental health grounds. Some commentators, and politicians, argue that conditions that were once “normal”, like anxiety, have now been medicalised, and that this partly explains why the number of people off work sick has risen. McGovern did not argue this. She told Times Radio:
I think that it’s a good thing that people are able to be more open about mental health conditions in work, and that we understand more about how people’s mental ill health can affect them in work.
I don’t think having a go at people and blaming them is the right approach.
She also said:
I think it’s definitely the case that we will help work be more sustainable for everybody, if we can take a broad approach to our mental wellbeing.
Asked if she was saying the government wanted to change work, not to change people, she replied:
Exactly. That’s the culture we need to change.
McGovern said that Britain was unusual internationally in not seeing employment rise again after Covid. She said:
If you look at those international statistics, what you see is that post-pandemic almost all of the countries around the world except us recovered in employment terms. The employment rate did increase, people did go back to work.
That didn’t happen in Britain, something is different, and the level of sickness that we’re experiencing as a country is really high.
Explaining why, she said “really bad” waiting lists in the NHS and “long-term differences in our economy depending on where you live” were among the reasons.
McGovern declined to say how much she expected the welfare reforms to save the taxpayer.
She said jobcentres should be more attractive to employers. She told the Today programme:
Only one in six of our employers really thinks about using a jobcentre. That is not OK because it means that the public employment service that’s supposed to be there to support our businesses is failing.
She confirmed that sanctions would apply to young people who do not take up offers of education, employment or training. But whereas Conservative ministers were normally eager to talk up sanctions, McGovern wasn’t. On the Today programme, she stressed that most young people would want to accept what was offered, and that sanctions already operate in the system. She said:
When good help is offered, it is taken up, that is normally what happens. Of course, people will always think of that small minority […] people who are not interested, they don’t want to do it …
There are rules in the system. Those rules have got to be made to work to make sure that if you take out in the form of social security, you have to do your part of the bargain.
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The Department for Work and Pensions has now published its summary of what’s in the Get Britain Working white paper.
The white paper itself is coming later.
Keir Starmer’s jobs plan won’t work because Labour are ducking tough welfare decisions, Tories claim
Good morning. Today the government is unveiling what it is calling, in the headline on its overnight press release, the “biggest employment reforms in a generation”. The reforms are intended to tackle the fact that Britain is the only major economy where the employment rate has fallen over the last five years, largely because more people are out of work due to long-term ill health. A white paper called Get Britain Working is being published later, and Liz Kendall, the work and pensions secretary, is due to make a statement in the Commons.
In its overnight briefing, the Department for Work and Pensions has already flagged up numerous initiatives which are in the white paper. Overall, the focus seems to be more carrot than stick. “Our reforms put an end to the culture of blaming and shaming people who for too long haven’t been getting the support they need to get back to work,” Keir Starmer says. But quite a lot of key decisions have been postponed, and at this point it is hard to assess quite how significant, or effective, these meaures will turn out to be. The history of welfare reform is littered with announcements that don’t quite live up to “biggest in a generation” hype.
This is how Starmer sums up what is government is doing.
From the broken NHS, flatlining economy, and the millions of people left unemployed and trapped in an inactivity spiral – this government inherited a country that simply isn’t working. But today we’ve set out a plan to fix this. A plan that tackles the biggest drivers of unemployment and inactivity and gives young people their future back through real, meaningful change instead of empty rhetoric and sticking plaster politics.
We’re overhauling jobcentres to make them fit for the modern age. We’re giving young people the skills and opportunities they need to prepare them for the jobs of the future. We’re fixing the NHS so people get the treatment and mental health support they desperately need to be able to get back to work. We’re working with businesses and employers to better support people with disabilities and health conditions to stay and progress in work, and it doesn’t stop there.
Our reforms put an end to the culture of blaming and shaming people who for too long haven’t been getting the support they need to get back to work. Helping people into decent, well-paid jobs and giving our children and young people the best start in life - that’s our plan to put more money in people’s pockets, unlock growth and make people better off.
The Conservatives say the plans won’t work because the government is ducking tough decisions. This is what Helen Whately, the shadow work and pensions secretary, said overnight.
This latest announcement shows that Labour are not prepared to take the tough but necessary choices to bring down the benefits bill.
There is no attempt to match the £12bn in welfare savings we promised in our manifesto. They have even dodged the difficult decisions on sickness benefits, which are needed to make the welfare system sustainable in the long term.
To get people off benefits you also need jobs for them to go to. But Labour’s disastrous anti-growth budget is already making businesses think twice about taking people on.
Here is Pippa Crerar’s overnight story.
I will be posting a lot more reaction and analysis as the day goes on. But here is a full list of what is coming up today.
9.30am: Keir Starmer chair cabinet.
10.30am: The supreme court begins a two-day hearing on a legal case brought by For Women Scotland who are arguing that trans women should not be regarded female for the purposes of the 2010 Equality Act.
11.30am: David Lammy, the foreign secretary, takes questions in the Commons.
11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
After 12.30pm: Liz Kendall, the work and pensions secretary, is expected to make a Commons statement about the Get Britain Working white paper.
After 1.30pm: MPs debate the tobacco and vapes bill, which would over time ban smoking by gradually raising the age at which people can legally buy cigarettes.
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