The Departments for Work and Pensions and Business and Trade have confirmed tax policy will remain outside of the scope of the Keep Britain Working review.
This means industry hopes that government will use the review to implement tax breaks for workplace interventions such as private medical insurance (PMI), group income protection or other health related services have fallen on deaf ears.
The review, which is part of the Get Britain Working White Paper, will engage widely, work alongside relevant stakeholders and consider and evaluate the proportionality of any recommended actions for businesses alongside their existing obligations –
The non-statutory independent review, led by Sir Charlie Mayfield, will investigate what employers and government can do to increase the recruitment, retention and return to work of disabled people and people with long-term health conditions, to ensure they have the skills to thrive in work and to discover how that is best unlocked and supported.
It will have two distinct phases:
Discovery phase
The first will be a discovery phase, with the aim of understanding the characteristics and drivers of rising levels of inactivity and ill health, the intersection with skill and qualification level, what employers currently do to help employ, train and retain disabled people and those with health conditions and how employers experience this in practice.
This phase will aim to identify what is driving economic inactivity and where there is the greatest potential for employers and government to make a difference.
The findings of this phase will be published, including the key questions and areas that are expected to be the focus for the second phase of the review.
Second phase
This discovery phase will be followed by exploring and developing recommendations for practical actions, both for employers and for government, to address this complex problem including what they could do more of, the support needed, including through the new National Jobs and Careers Service, as well as the consideration of the business impacts.
This second phase is expected to consider recruitment, retention, prevention, early intervention, return to work, and skills – all issues that are included in Get Britain Working, the government’s White Paper published on 26 November 2024.
Government added the review will aim to engage widely, and will work alongside relevant stakeholders, including business and disability representative groups as well as individuals. Mayfield will convene a small panel to support the review, with the potential to expand the panel and / or to convene expert input as the review progresses.
It will also aim to identify both short-term and longer-term recommendations. The review will consider what immediate action can be taken to begin addressing any issues identified, and also explore whether any longer-term solutions or structural changes are required.
The review will consider and evaluate the proportionality of any recommended actions for businesses alongside their existing obligations.
But crucially, government confirmed tax policy is out of scope of the review.
Government further confirmed Mayfield and the panel will have the full support and co-operation of the DWP and DBT in completing their independent review, and that as lead reviewer he will have access to all suitable, appropriate, and necessary government information required to conduct the review.
Timing
The discovery phase is expected to conclude in Spring 2025, with the independent review to report and make recommendations in Autumn 2025.
The review’s findings and recommendations must be submitted to the Secretaries of State for Work and Pensions and Business and Trade at a date to be determined, expected to be in Autumn 2025.
Government added the content of the report is the sole responsibility of the reviewer appointed to conduct the work, who will have the final say on all key outputs and recommendations.
The timing and manner of the publication of the independent report will be determined by the secretaries of state.
