I am pleased to make a statement today, jointly with the Business and Trade Secretary, on Sir Charlie Mayfield’s Keep Britain Working review, which he has submitted to the Government.
As ill health is one of the biggest drivers of economic inactivity in the UK—800,000 more people are out of work now than in 2019 due to health problems—the Government commissioned Sir Charlie to investigate the factors behind that and look at how Government and businesses can work together to turn it around.
As well as delivering our plan to get Britain working, we need to help people to stay in work and prevent them from falling out of work in the first place due to ill health. With a further 600,000 people set to leave the workforce by 2030 if current trends continue, we need to keep Britain working.
Sir Charlie has engaged extensively with business, disabled people, health professionals and other key voices across the UK, ensuring that a wide range of voices and experience have shaped his recommendations. I would like to thank Sir Charlie, for his excellent work and collaborative approach, as well as everyone who has contributed.
As well as setting out the scale, nature and cost of inactivity on individuals, employers and the state, the review identifies three problems: first, a culture of fear felt by both employees and employers; secondly, a lack of an effective or consistent support system for employers and their employees in managing health and tackling barriers faced by disabled people; and thirdly, structural challenges for disabled people, creating barriers to starting and staying in work.
In response to these problems, the review sets out a fundamental shift from a model where health at work is largely left to the individual and the NHS, to one where it becomes a shared responsibility between employers, employees and health services.
To keep the momentum from employers, we are today announcing that we will be taking forward the recommendation to set up a vanguard phase. We will work with the businesses who have already stepped up to become a vanguard to test different approaches and build evidence for a better workplace. All employers taking part in this phase will be doing so voluntarily.
The vanguard phase needs to continue the spirit of collaboration with business and disabled people. We are pleased to announce that we will be appointing Sir Charlie Mayfield to co-chair a vanguard taskforce, alongside myself and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, to lead this vanguard phase in partnership with Government.
The taskforce will also bring together representatives from business, disabled people, workers representatives and health experts to shape and deliver this work. We will bring forward more detail in due course.
The review rightly sets out that data, evidence and insight will be central to the success of the vanguard phase. We are today asking Sir Charlie and the taskforce to oversee the rapid set-up of a workplace health intelligence unit to work closely with business to systematically provide the data and insight that both businesses and Government need to support the vanguard and inform wider reform. Through the vanguard, we intend to work with businesses and disabled people to pilot and develop improvements and reform.
We agree with Sir Charlie’s diagnosis that the fit note system is not working as intended. It is currently a missed opportunity to get people the help they need to get in and get on in work. We are already piloting innovative approaches to the fit note and we are committed to further reform so that it works better for patients, employers and the health system. We will bring forward further detail in due course.
We agree that access to work needs improving. This is why, through the “Pathways to Work” Green Paper, we consulted on the future of the scheme. We are working with disabled people and people with health conditions, in addition to their representative organisations and people that support them, on a plan for reform.
We also recognise that Disability Confident needs to deliver more for disabled people and employers. The vanguard phase will test stronger standards and practical support, helping employers recruit, retain and develop disabled staff, making Disability Confident a mark of genuine inclusion.
This review gives us a clear roadmap for reform. We look forward to working with Sir Charlie Mayfield, with business, and with disabled people and people with health conditions to keep Britain working.
I will update the House on progress as this critical work moves forward.
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