Schools could help pupils map out career plans from the age of 14 under proposals drawn up by officials aimed at cutting reliance on benefits after they leave education.
Alan Milburn‘s report into out-of-work youngsters looks set to propose a shake-up of the way teenagers plan their futures in schools, according to leaked documents seen by The i Paper.
His review into young people not in education, employment or training – known as “Neets” – is expected to recommend a new “participation” system to help them avoid ending up on benefits when they leave school or college at 18.
The former New Labour-era Cabinet minister is drawing up plans for public services such as schools and councils to intervene with early support before youngsters become Neet. He is still finalising his recommendations.
MI5 monitored Nye Bevan for more than 20 years, records show
Anuerin “Nye” Bevan – feted for founding the NHS – was subject to monitoring by MI5 for more than two decades, according to newly released official files.
What you need to know
Papers released to the National Archives show Bevan first came to the attention of the Security Service in the 1930s amid concern about his links with prominent communists.
The monitoring continued even after he became a minister in the post-war Labour government when he drove through the creation of the NHS.
5 min read
What do the files tell us?
- The files start from 1933, four years after Bevan became MP for Ebbw Vale in South Wales.
- At the time, he was notorious as a staunch critic of Labour prime minister Ramsay MacDonald.
- Bevan met many high-profile left-wing leaders from trade unionists to communists.
- This meant his name commonly appeared in intercepted letters and tapped conversations.
A closer look at the files
- He strongly opposed the government’s handling of the Second World War, which attracted particular MI5 attention.
- MI5 deemed it “sufficiently serious” in May 1949 when Bevan was associated with communist Wilfred McCartney – a serial offender of the Official Secrets Act.
- Prime minister Clement Atlee was informed of Bevan’s maintained relationships with the Communist Party of Great Britain.
3 min read
Bevan was ‘never a spy’
It was previously thought that Bevan was the subject of Security Service surveillance during WW2. This significant set of documents confirms that it was the case for the best part of three decades. What is revealed is that Nye was never a spy but someone who was true to his country and believed in democratic socialism to transform Britain for the better.
NICK THOMAS-SYMONDS, Labour mp and historian
What is PHP – and why did it spark a global cyber security scramble?
A total of 32 government services are offline and four are partially unavailable amid the , a minister has said in the House of Lords.
Organisations around the world have been scrambling to fix a critical security flaw in the programming language PHP.
What is PHP?
- Developed in the 90s to serve dynamic web pages, PHP still powers lots of platforms today, including Wikipedia, online shops and WordPress.
- According to cyber security firm Wiz, which helped uncover the critical vulnerabilities this week, PHP powers 70 per cent of the world’s websites.
The vulnerability
- A group of cyber security researchers disclosed two vulnerabilities within PHP this week, which they warned could upend sites across the internet.
The alert disrupted services globally, from gaming platforms to government portals and online forums.
The impact on the UK
- As of 12pm on Wednesday, 32 UK government services were offline and four were partially unavailable, a minister said in the House of Lords.
- The security of next week’s Government Budget has not been compromised by the flaw.
- A spokeswoman added that it is not “standard practice” to provide a list of government services that are affected.
What happens now?
- Organisations have been warned that Russian state actors or organised criminals could exploit the flaws again.
4 min read
Gusts of 70-80mph in exposed coastal areas and high ground are possible.
The Met Office has announced the second named storm of the year, with Storm Boelo to bring strong winds and heavy rain to parts of Northern Ireland, Scotland and northern England on Saturday and Sunday.
What you need to know
- Storm Boelo is expected to mostly affect northern parts of the country over the weekend.
- Strongest winds will be across Northern Ireland, Scotland and northern England on Saturday.
- Boelo’s arrival comes less than 48 hours after the announcement of the first named storm, Austen, which is set to impact on Friday.
- When Boelo hits, it will bring “impactful winds” to northern parts on Saturday night and through Sunday, the Met Office warned.
3 min read
What to expect
Gusts of 70-80mph in exposed coastal areas and high ground are possible, with 50-60mph gusts more widely. The strong winds will be accompanied by heavy rain, making for an impactful weekend of weather. Severe weather warnings and forecast detail will continue to develop, so people should keep up to date with the forecast.
Chris Bulmer, Met Office Deputy Chief Forecaster
The weather warnings for Storm Austen already in place
All the ways Trump’s man in Moscow debased the US in front of Putin
Sat at a big round table in a gilded chair in St Petersburg on Wednesday, face-to-face with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, US envoy Steve Witkoff had the eyes of the world on him. Would this be the beginning of the end of the war in Ukraine? Would he push for peace?
‘All Putin’s Christmases come at once’
One reporter described it instead as “all Putin’s Christmases come at once”. Matthew Sussex, a national security expert at Australia’s Deakin University, warned not to view it as a game of geopolitical poker. Witkoff was “playing tiddlywinks”, he said. A promise to resume trilateral talks would probably amount to nothing.
What Witkoff said to Putin
You talk so much about my president, President Trump, being a humanitarian, you are a humanitarian also, sir. And I salute that. I commend you, and I thank you again.
Witkoff said to Putin, early in the public portion of the talks before they began in earnest behind closed doors
What was he referring to?
- He was referring to Russia’s release earlier that day of Stephen Hubbard, a retired US schoolteacher imprisoned in Russia.
- This is not the first time Witkoff has been effusive in his praise of Putin.
- When he met Putin in September he told the Russian leader that just before the meeting they “were all talking about when we retire, we’ll have all these incredible stories…and yours will be right at the top of it all”.
3 min read
How did Trump react?
Calling Putin a “humanitarian” was such a reach that even Donald Trump tried to qualify it later, saying: “Well, I guess you could say [it] for that particular purpose, for the purpose of allowing a man who was thinking he was going to be in prison for life, out, but you know, I wouldn’t say anything one way or the other, you know?”
Other Republicans found it harder to swallow.
It’s official – Glee will return to our screens
At last month’s series 13 premiere, director Ryan Murphy revealed he’d written an for a Glee reboot.
It’s been 11 years since the final episode of the musical-comedy-drama aired but now “Gleeks” have something to believe in as reported that Disney+ and Hulu officially picked up a revival of the iconic show.
I just finished the script an hour ago, so, we have a script. Brad, Ian, and I, who wrote all the first two seasons, have written something. I’ve been in touch with around 10 of the original cast members.
murphy in an interview with entertainment tonight
Who is coming back for the reboot?
Ryan Murphy seemingly confirmed that 10 of the original cast members are “enthusiastic” about reprising their roles – who are they?
Sources revealed to that Lea Michele, who played Rachel Berry, is “in”. Heather Morris confirmed in an Instagram post that Brittany Pierce “is alive and well” and back for more”. Chord Overstreet, who played Sam Evans, seemingly announced his return on X: “Reunited and it feels so good!”
What will it be about?
Will it pick up from where the series ended in 2015? Or will it fast-forward a decade?
As of the series finale, it left off as:
- Mr Shue becomes the principal of the up-and-coming performing arts school, McKinley High, and names its auditorium in Finn’s honour.
- Rachel wins a Tony Award, marries Jesse St James and becomes a surrogate mother to Blaine.
- Mercedes pursues a career in pop music and ultimately ends up as an opening act for Beyoncé.
A cultural phenomenon
How popular was Glee?
10 million
The chaotic six-series-long drama attracted an average audience of 10 million viewers a week, transforming stars like Lea Michele and Jonathan Groff as household names.
207
Known for its ballads, the show landed 207 covers on the Billboard Hot 100 alongside winning six Emmys and four Golden Globes during its run.
Blood tests could identify men most at risk of prostate cancer
Researchers at Oxford University have discovered signs in men’s blood that could protect those most at risk of the disease.
Here is everything you need to know.
What you need to know
This latest research will help predict which men will develop the cancer most aggressively and hopes that doctors will soon be able to screen for it in hospitals.
- It found that 12 proteins in the blood were linked to a future diagnosis of the cancer – sometimes appearing as late as 15 years.
The expert view
Prostate cancer is not one disease. By measuring thousands of proteins in blood collected years before diagnosis, we can investigate how men who develop aggressive cancer differ from men who do not. We hope this will improve how we assess risk in the future.
Dr Zhe Huang, a postdoctoral epidemiologist at Oxford Population Health
How does this research change current practices?
- The research found that the immune system may be keeping early cancerous stages in check before diagnosis.
- It opens avenues to identify the processes that drive aggressive forms of prostate cancer.
- It could help implement a national screening programme, which does not currently exist in the UK.
- It could help prevent unnecessary biopsies and treatments for slow-growing tumours.
- While these proteins do not always equate to cancer, they help reveal biological changes which can lead to the increased likelihood of it.
Prostate cancer – in numbers
- 7proteins linked to aggressive cancer.
- 1,500men a year will be offered tests under the latest NHS proposals, unless they have symptoms.
- 12,000men a year die from the disease in the UK.
- 63,000men are diagnosed with the cancer annually in the UK.
According to documents seen by this newspaper setting out the review’s provisional recommendations, 14 to 16-year-olds could be offered support to develop career plans for life after education.
This could include the sort of job they would like to do in the future, how much they would like to earn and the steps required to achieve it, an insider said.
Schools, local authorities and employers would then work together to help pupils turn their plans into reality, the source added.
Nearly one million young people aged 16 to 24 are now classified as NEET, and the cost of out-of-work and disability benefits for this age group is £8.1bn.
The Milburn review, which is expected to propose redistributing public money from benefits to employment support, is due to be published after the 28 October Budget.
A Department for Education (DfE) source said it would avoid placing extra and “disproportionate” burdens on schools while implementing Milburn’s reforms.
“We’ve shown just how seriously we take the NEETs crisis over the past few months, and know education is central to fixing it – but we will not put additional and disproportionate burdens onto schools,” the source told The i Paper.
The other measures that could help keep young adults off benefits
The Milburn team is understood to have tested other options for 14 to 16-year-olds, such as improving access to high-quality vocational and technical education for younger pupils at local colleges like mechanics or plumbing.
Another idea is to circulate “risk indicators” to help identify those who could become Neet.
Key groups who could be given extra help are those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), health conditions and disabilities, young carers and care leavers. Young parents and those in contact with the justice services are also likely to be prioritised.
Schools already have to follow statutory guidance to provide careers advice to all pupils from Year 8 to Year 13, including work experience placements. They also have a legal duty to treat technical education and apprenticeships on the same level as university.
“Gone are the days of a careers advisor in schools as a standard”, a secondary teacher in Bristol told The i Paper, adding that most offer two weeks of work experience and a careers fair put on by external providers.
Simon Hughes, executive principal of Blackpool and The Fylde College, said current school work experience is “better than nothing” but still “completely ineffective” in helping young people transition into employment.
He said: “If we want to tick a box… to say, have they had a small [amount of] work experience? Have they been to a careers fair? I think they do it really well. If you say, as a result of those activities, is that young person now prepared effectively for life after school? I would argue that they are not.”
Hughes said young people need “real world” preparation, citing the college’s own “Compass Curriculum” as an example. This scheme allows local pupils in Year 10 and 11 to study a range of practical and technical courses one day a week for two years to teach them skills, test what they enjoy and prepare them for a professional environment.
He also called for better careers advice for primary and secondary age pupils, adding: “We have a model in Blackpool that we believe could be lifted and shifted into any town or city.”
Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) secretary Pat McFadden recently told a gathering of Labour MPs he would introduce a “new participation system” to help young people find success.
16 to 18 year-olds will get support in schools and colleges to prepare for adult life
As career plans can change and evolve over a number of years, the proposals could give teenagers the opportunity to explore what their future might look like before they begin preparing more seriously for adult life from the ages of 16 to 18.
Schools and colleges would help identify those who need extra help achieving their goals so they can receive specialist support, while local authorities would be responsible for ensuring youngsters in this age group are engaged in education, training or work.
Those aged 18 and above are also likely to get support from the “participation” service to remain on track should they need it.
According to reporting by , a separate youth welfare system could be set up for under-25s where they are required to take up work support to receive benefits.
Milburn’s interim report concluded that the current system spends £25 on benefits for every £1 spent on employment support.
Currently, under-25s can get an additional £429.80 a month on top of the standard £338.58 Universal Credit payment if they are judged unfit to work. Separate PIP benefits, which are not directly linked to work and do not involve sanctions, are up to £843 a month.
Separately, disability minister Sir Stephen Timms is looking at alternatives to PIP, which will recommend a complete overhaul of disability benefits to support more people into work, with some claimants encouraged to swap cash for other forms of support such as therapy.