Guidance

Advisory Group for the Keep Britain Working Vanguard Phase: Terms of Reference

Published 3 July 2026

The Advisory Group provides external expertise, insight, and constructive challenge to support delivery of the Keep Britain Working (KBW) Vanguard Phase. The Vanguard Phase will work with employers across the UK to test practical approaches that help people with health conditions and disabled people stay in work, improve workplace health support, and drive productivity.

The Advisory Group ensures proposals remain feasible, evidence-driven, and grounded in real-world practice.

The Advisory Group is an advisory body with policy decisions reserved to Ministers.

Core functions

Members will:

• test and refine emerging proposals developed through the Vanguard Phase
• through professional insight and lived experience, provide constructive challenge, highlighting risks, opportunities, and potential consequences of different approaches
• bring diverse perspectives - including employers, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), unions, clinicians, disabled people, and experts
• advise on the design, feasibility, and likely impact of workplace health initiatives
• support the development of the Workplace Health Intelligence Unit (WHIU), particularly its evidence and employer-facing functions
• participate in thematic deep dives or early testing where relevant

Membership and governance

• Membership will include employers, SMEs, unions, clinicians, disabled people, occupational health and HR experts, data specialists, and other stakeholders.
• While members are affiliated with their organisations, they participate in an advisory capacity and are invited primarily for their individual expertise in the field.
• Policy officials from sponsoring departments (Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), Department for Business and Trade (DBT)) may attend as observers.
• The group will be co‑chaired by Sir Charlie Mayfield and a rotating Secretary of State from DWP, DHSC, or DBT.
• Uphold the Governance Code for Public Appointments and the Seven Principles of Public Life: Selflessness, Integrity, Objectivity, Accountability, Openness, Honesty, Leadership.
• All members must declare any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest.
• Members must set aside organisational or personal interests when participating; impartiality is expected.
• Members must provide advance notice if they wish to withdraw from the group.
• Participation is voluntary and unremunerated, with reasonable expenses covered.
• The Vanguard Phase of Keep Britain Working has been set out as 3 years. The operation of this Advisory Group will be kept under review to ensure it continues to support the work, but involvement could span the period of the Vanguard Phase.
• Government officials or external experts may be invited to participate where relevant but will not hold standing membership.

Terms of engagement

• The group will receive papers, proposals, and research outputs that may not represent final or agreed Government policy. Members will contribute early to their refinement and quality assurance.
• All materials shared with the group are confidential and must not be circulated beyond group members without explicit permission from officials.
• Members are expected to participate in open, respectful, and constructive discussion.
• Membership does not imply endorsement of emerging or final government policy.
• A register of members’ outside interests will be maintained. Documents will be checked against these interests and redacted where appropriate.
• Members must recuse themselves from discussions where participation could be commercially advantageous to them/their organisation or where their advice could reasonably be perceived as influenced by their commercial interests.

Meetings

• Meetings will take place approximately quarterly, usually for 60 to 90 minutes. They may be held virtually or in-person in Westminster.
• Meetings will take place under the Chatham House Rule to support open discussion.
• The Keep Britain Working team will act as Secretariat (DWP) and will arrange meetings, circulate papers, and record actions.
• Exceptional meetings, correspondence, or engagement with individual members may be required at key points.

Confidentiality and Use of Official Information

• Confidential or privileged information will be shared only with appointed members.
• Members must treat all sensitive information appropriately and must not share, store, or disseminate materials outside the group without permission.
• Confidentiality obligations continue after a member leaves the group; members are expected to delete any restricted documents upon departure.
• Personal data (e.g., email addresses) will be used solely to support group operations, including meeting arrangements and sharing documents.
• All personal data will be handled in accordance with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.
• Members may request access to, correction of, or deletion of their personal data at any time.