Ministers are gearing up to announce major changes to the benefits system in an effort to drive down reliance on Government handouts – and get more young people into work.
Andy Burnham has said he does not was to see “anyone in their 20s on benefits” unless they cannot work due to a disability, suggesting a significant shift in policy is on the way.
The Prime Minister has insisted he will not reduce the welfare bill via “crude cuts” – despite the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) think-tank saying serious belt-tightening is needed to set the UK’s economy straight.
Do at-home vitamin D tests really work? What we know
At-home vitamin D tests may give unreliable results and prevent consumers seeking help for genuine deficiencies, a watchdog has warned.
A significant deficiency
Vitamin D deficiency is common in the UK, partly due to a lack of adequate sunlight during the winter months, although factors such as diet and age can also play a role.
However, consumer organisation Which? has claimed to have found significant variations across rapid self-testing kit results versus laboratory blood tests for deficiency.
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Testing the test kits
- The watchdog bought five widely available rapid vitamin D tests, all costing around £8 at retailers including Amazon, Lloyds Pharmacy, Waitrose and Boots.
- Results from the same person were compared with a registered laboratory test on the same day, which showed vitamin D levels within a sufficient range.
- However, the self-testing kits gave different results.
50 nmol/L
A reading higher than 50 nanomoles per liter (nmol/L) is considered a sufficient level of vitamin D.
An insufficient result indicates a user’s levels are below the ideal range, while a deficient result suggests levels could pose a risk to health.
75 nmol/L
However, rapid self-testing kits use a higher cut off of 75 nmol/L as a sufficient level.
This should mean more people will be flagged as insufficient compared with an NHS-ordered blood test.
The findings
The Which? researcher would therefore have been expected to fall within the insufficient range on the self-testing kits, given their laboratory result showed them to be within the 50 nmol/L range.
- Only two self-test results in the Which? study suggested .
- Two others indicated – markedly lower than the level indicated by the researcher’s lab blood test.
- The result indicated a sufficient level of vitamin D.
The risks
Which? warned that inaccurate results could leave consumers unnecessarily worried about their health, falsely reassured or buying supplements they don’t need.
The Royal College of Pathologists says taking too much vitamin D over time can cause high levels of calcium in the blood, with complications including kidney stones. Meanwhile, not treating a deficiency can increase the risk of osteoporosis over time.
People turn to at-home health checks for peace of mind and as a way of managing their own health so it is deeply concerning that tests sold by major high street brands and online gave completely contradictory results
Sue Davies, Which? head of consumer rights and food policy
The radical new breast cancer trials to cut radiotherapy
Women with early-stage breast cancer could be spared multiple rounds of gruelling radiotherapy under a “breakthrough” cancer trial. Here’s what we know.
What we know
The Fast-Forward Boost trial is running at 39 hospitals across the UK and will test a shorter course of radiotherapy with an additional targeted dose known as a “boost” to help stop breast cancer returning.
The Government-funded trial is testing whether breast cancer radiotherapy can be safely cut from three weeks to just five days, potentially sparing women 10 hospital visits.
Aim to improve quality of life
- Radiotherapy for early-stage breast cancer is very effective but can be gruelling for patients.
- Treatment is required over several weeks and there are side effects as well as emotional strain.
- Reducing the rounds of treatment may improve patients’ quality of life, cutting travel costs and time away from work and family.
- It could also free up NHS capacity to treat more people.
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Scale of the trial
1,000
More than 1,000 people have joined the trial.
Researchers hope to recruit more than 4,000 people for overall.
2033
Participants will be monitored for five years.
Results of the trial are expected in 2033.
Builds on prior research
The trial is being led by the Institute of Cancer Research, London, and funded through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
It builds on previous research, with a similar approach already having been adopted for other conditions such as low- to intermediate-risk localised prostate cancer.
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Why Google stock plunged £500bn in a single day
Google’s parent company, Alphabet, lost over $500bn (£374bn) in value on Thursday after it spooked Wall Street with its last update of the year.
Revenue up, profits down
$127.6bn
Alphabet’s total quarterly revenue was up by 25 per cent compared to last year.
Revenue in Google Cloud grew by 103 per cent to nearly $31bn (£23bn), with total company revenue at $127.6bn (£95bn).
- However, Alphabet’s profits fell by 25 per cent during the quarter.
- For the second time in its history as a public company, it also showed negative free cash flow amounting to $9bn (£6.7bn).
Why are investors panicking?
- Negative free cash flow means the company is spending more money than it is bringing in.
- The company’s new level of spending is largely dedicated to investments in AI.
- Google’s search engine now defaults to presenting AI summaries of people’s search queries at the top of results.
- But the company revealed these AI summaries are affecting ad revenue.
The importance of ad sales
The revelation has worried investors because sales of ads that appear next to Google search results accounts for the majority of Alphabet’s business.
Following the revelation to investors, Alphabet’s total stock market value had fallen to $3.46trn (£2.58trn) by the end of trading on Thursday, down from $3.97trn (£2.96trn) the day before. Tracy Woo, a principal analyst at Forrester, said Alphabet’s disappointing results “highlight the challenge of funding massive AI investments while maintaining the strength of established businesses”.
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The most complained about broadband companies revealed
Communications and media watchdog Ofcom has revealed Britain’s most complained about broadband providers in recent months.
The latest numbers
Ofcom said its latest data, covering the quarter from April to June, showed that total complaint numbers were lower than the previous quarter.
It linked the drop in complaints specifically to fewer issues from customers regarding pay-TV services, while complaints about broadband, landline and mobile services stayed roughly the same.
Level of complaints
- Ofcom’s latest data showed BT, EE, TalkTalk and Vodafone reported seven broadband complaints per 100,000 customers.
- Virgin Media was the UK broadband provider to receive the fewest complaints, with four per 100,000 customers.
- It was followed by Plusnet and Sky, which both received five per 100,000 customers.
Change from previous quarter
No change for BT
BT’s figure was flat against the previous quarter.
EE saw an increase in quarterly complaints.
Others see drop
TalkTalk and Vodafone both reported a reduction in complaints.
Sir Patrick Stewart’s life and career – in pictures
The veteran actor, Sir Patrick Stewart, who starred in and has died at his home in Los Angeles, aged 86.
Here, we take a look at his life and work.
- Stewart’s death followed a “brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia”.
- He is survived by his wife Sunny Ozell, his children Daniel and Sophie from a previous marriage, and grandchildren.
- Sir Ian McKellen, Stewart’s close friend and co-star who officiated his 2013 wedding, led tributes to “the most respected and beloved actor of his generation either side of the Atlantic”.
Stewart’s early acting years
Born in Mirfield, West Yorkshire, in 1940, Stewart began acting aged 12 at an eight-day drama course.
In his mid-20s, he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company, and continued to act on stage throughout his career.
Stewart shot to fame when he originated the role of Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1987.
Sci-fi stardom
The sci-fi TV series ran for seven years, with films in 1994 and in 1996. Stewart later said the success of the show created difficulties as directors did not want to cast the captain of the Starship Enterprise in their films.
Beginning in 2000, Stewart took on his biggest movie role as Marvel superhero Professor Charles Xavier in the X-men franchise. He reprised the role repeatedly over the following decades, including in the upcoming film.
Other roles
Stewart’s other TV appearances include , and Fall of Eagles, in which he played Russian revolutionary Lenin. He briefly appeared in in the 1960s and was a series regular on Seth Macfarlane’s , voicing Deputy Director Bullock. He also worked with Macfarlane on and .
Honours and recognition
Stewart became an OBE in 2001 and was knighted in 2009. His various acting accolades include two Laurence Olivier Awards and a Grammy Award.
The lifelong Huddersfield Town fan counted becoming chancellor of the University of Huddersfield among his proudest achievements.
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- Stewart was a vocal supporter of assisted dying, saying that people “should have the choice to die at home on their own terms.” He also called for a “people’s vote” after the 2016 Brexit referendum.
- His other activisim included advocating for victims of domestic violence, having revealed that his father was abusive to his mother. In 2018, he called for medicinal cannabis to be legalised.
What to know as crypto industry suffers ‘largest heist in history’
Cryptocurrency worth billions has been stolen from a major exchange in what has been termed “the largest bank heist in human history”.
What we know
Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange platform, was targeted by a “complex attack” involving more than $6.3bn (£4.7bn) in digital currency. Around half of the affected assets have been frozen, the crypto giant said.
Deposits and withdrawals have been temporarily “disabled” but as of 8am UK time on Friday, the hacker was still thought to control about $2.4bn (£1.8bn) worth of Bitcoin and Ether, the two biggest cryptocurrencies by valuation.
Detail on suspected hackers
- Several crypto analytics firms said the hack resembled previous North Korean-linked incidents.
- Binance is yet to attribute blame but said initial investigations suggest the hack “may have started with a compromised DevOps engineer’s laptop”.
- That “gave an attacker access to a service container, where they submitted unauthorized withdrawal transactions”.
The attacker did not simply use one engineer’s permissions, and this was not a single ‘one-click’ action. It involved a more complex attack process.
Richard Teng, Binance’s co-CEO
Unprecedented scale and speed
Emily Taylor, co-founder of the Global Signal Exchange, told the BBC the hack set a “grim new record” and was conducted “on a speed and scale we’ve never seen”.
The hack is thought to have been planned for at least 36 hours and carried out in about 20 minutes. It is understood to eclipse the scale of the previous largest breach, a $1.5bn (£1.1bn) North Korea-linked hack on the Bybit exchange last year.
Binance promises to cover losses
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Could the UK really be facing a ‘catastrophic decade’?
The Government’s plans to help households with the cost of living will not prevent “catastrophic” living standards from falling, a leading think-tank has warned.
Helen Miller, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), said in her post-Budget analysis: “This decade looks set to be the worst decade for growth in household incomes on record.”
The think-tank warned the average median income will fall by 3 per cent from 2027 to the end of the decade.
Chancellor narrows his options
The IFS criticised Chancellor John Healey for choosing to fund a £4.7bn black hole in the defence investment plan in part from the Treasury’s reserves. This further narrows Healey’s options to keep spending plans on course in the event of another global economic shock, the think-tank said, and suggests he could face rampant speculation about tax rises ahead of the next Budget.
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A clear short-term risk with the Chancellor’s choices is that next year, with low headroom and a spending review that looks pretty brutal for some departments, we see another season of damaging speculation about tax rises.
IFS director, helen miller
Bacon butties and grumbling MPs: Inside Healey’s first Budget
When John Healey stood up at the Despatch Box to deliver his maiden Budget on Wednesday, he had reason to feel confident.
Does testosterone really help improve menopause brain fog?
There is “insufficient” evidence to back the claim that testosterone can improve brain fog and memory symptoms linked to the menopause, a new study suggests.
Social media is “flooded” with claims that testosterone can improve these symptoms in menopausal women, experts said.
What you need to nkow
While there is anecdotal information that testosterone can help, experts stressed that there is currently not enough evidence to establish the effect. Experts at University College London said testosterone prescriptions have increased in the UK, reflecting growing interest in its role during menopause.
The team reviewed five studies which looked at whether testosterone can improve memory in post menopausal women.
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A closer look at the detail
244 women
Some 244 women with an average age of 57 involved in the review were given either a placebo or testosterone at varying levels.
- The research team did not find significant improvements for cognitive function among participants taking testosterone.
- “The findings should be interpreted as insufficient to establish an effect, rather than as evidence of no effect,” the authors wrote in the journal Reproduction And Fertility.
The expert view
While there may be some anecdotal evidence for this in perimenopausal women, we cannot claim testosterone improves cognition during menopause without further evidence. More research is needed to understand any links between and brain health.
Professor Aimee Spector, senior author of the study and director of the UCL Menopause Mind Lab
But welfare spending is forecast to balloon to over £400bn by the end of the decade, with costs largely driven up by inflationary increases to benefits, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) latest financial outlook.
The entire bill – which includes disability benefits, universal credit and the state pension – is expected to increase from £333bn in 2025/26 to £431bn in 2030/31. Health and disability benefits, including personal independence payments, are set to make up over £100bn of this by 2028/29, rising to over £120bn a year by 2031/32.
Next month, Labour grandee Alan Milburn’s report into youth joblessness and disability minister Stephen Timms’s review into disability benefits will be published. The Government will respond to their recommendations by the end of the year, with a White Paper and legislation to follow in 2027.
Milburn has set out to reduce the “perverse incentives” to remaining on benefits rather than taking up work. While Labour wants to avoid restricting benefits for those who need them most, there will inevitably be some tightening of eligibility and the possible removal of welfare support for young people who don’t take up job offers.
Here are all the changes that could be made.
Cutting the universal credit health element for under-25s
One proposal being discussed is removing the health element of universal credit for all under 25s and replacing it with an intensive “Return to Work” scheme. New claimants already saw a monthly reduction from April 2026 – down from £429 to £217.
The health element is an extra monthly payment added on top of the standard universal credit allowance for claimants who have a long-term health condition or disability.
It is understood the payment could be replaced with subsidised jobs for younger people, targeted “Back to Work” schemes and mental health support.
Around 184,000 18- to 24-year-olds currently qualify for an additional monthly payment due to a health condition or disability that severely affects their ability to work, with no requirement for those who qualify to look for work.
The OBR has predicted that the nation will spend £3bn more on this benefit in 2030/31.
Eduin Latimer, senior research economist at the IFS specialising in welfare, said cutting the UC health element or personal independence payments (PIP) – the main disability benefit – is a “natural” option for the Government.
He told The i Paper that a cut to restrict access to the health element of UC for people aged 25 and under “could in theory make savings basically immediately”.
Replacing the personal independence payment (PIP)
Around four million under-25s currently qualify for PIP, a non-means-tested benefit that helps with extra living costs for those with a long-term physical or mental health condition or disability.
But the Timms Review – led by the disability minister – is now evaluating the system in England and Wales, and considering potential alternatives to help support people into work.
Timms, who was commissioned after Sir Keir Starmer’s botched welfare reforms last summer, said the review is looking at whether the welfare system can direct people towards help “in addition to or, in some cases, perhaps instead of a cash payment”.
It comes as Milburn, a former cabinet minister conducting a report into Neets – those not in education, employment or training – found that nearly half of PIP claims among young people are for autism and ADHD.
It is understood that while Milburn’s report is expected to make savings eventually under a decade-long plan, the Timms proposals have not been designed to make cuts.
However, more than half of voters believe young people claiming disability benefits should be hit with sanctions if they turn down employment opportunities, polling shared with The i Paper suggests.
‘Tough’ approach to those who don’t take up jobs
Chancellor John Healey did not specifically mention sanctions for young people who don’t take up job offers, but he did suggest a “tough” approach to those who refuse work and training.
He said: “We will expect, as we’ve done before, that (young people) take up the offers… and that’s the way that we can bring welfare bills down in the long term.”
Pointing to previous Labour governments – when there were more conditions on welfare payments for young people – Healey said he would be “tough on those who weren’t prepared to take up the offer”, while offering “real support and advice”.
Latimer said adding work-related sanctions to PIP is a “trade off” as while it would save money by decreasing the number of people who would meet the conditions, it could restrict people with severe disabilities.
“At the moment it’s only about one in five claimants work so if you did if you did say require people to work that would effectively be quite a big cut to PIP,” he said.
Work-related support
Ministers have been clear that the package to reduce reliance on benefits will come alongside intensive employment support for young people.
Milburn is expected to propose a package of reforms to help under 25s find meaningful employment under a new “participation” system.
This is expected to start with career plans in school from the age of 14. Schools, local authorities and employers would then work together to help pupils turn their plans into reality.
The report is expected to cut across multiple departments, including the Department for Work and Pensions, Education and the Business brief. Ministers are understood to be dovetailing Millburn’s requests against their departmental priorities and existing programmes that tackle youth joblessness.
Latimer said Milburn’s employment support package would require “upfront spending” but it “could pay off in the long run if it does succeed in getting more young people into work”.
The Department for Work and Pensions has already invested £3.5bn in employment support to “end the culture of people being signed off and written off”.
This is alongside £2.5bn investment in youth employment over the next three years to support almost one million young people and help deliver up to 500,000 opportunities to “earn and learn”.