UK Inquiry Tracker

Jobcentres

Public Accounts Committee Closed Inquiry

Opened: 26 Mar 2025 Closed: 22 Sep 2025 Parliament page

The Government plans to reform the system of employment support, including by merging Jobcentre Plus with the National Careers Service. There are over 600 Jobcentres across Great Britain, forming a network which is the Department for Work and Pension’s main mechanism for supporting Universal Credit (UC) claimants into work and … Read more The Government plans to reform the system of employment support, including by merging Jobcentre Plus with the National Careers Service. There are over 600 Jobcentres across Great Britain, forming a network which is the Department for Work and Pension’s main mechanism for supporting Universal Credit (UC) claimants into work and increase their income. In October 2024, there were 7.2m people claiming UC. Of these people, 2.5m were earning less than the threshold whereby their UC claim would be subject to conditions, which could include a specified number of hours of looking for work, or regular meetings with a work coach. In a 2021 report , the PAC found that the quality of claimants’ experience and whether they received the right support would depend on the DWP’s ability to integrate an additional 13,500 new work coaches into its organisation and manage their performance effectively. The Work and Pensions Committee launched its own inquiry into Jobcentre reform in 2025 , examining the Jobcentre’s role and customers’ experience of it, as well as how they can work better with external organisations and careers advisers to get people into work. The National Audit Office’s 2025 report on supporting people to work through Jobcentres aimed to establish a baseline for the current system. Based on the NAO report, the PAC will hear from senior DWP officials on subjects including: Supply and demand of support, including for work coaches; Performance of Jobcentres against DWP’s current objectives; and Variations in outcome for different demographic groups or parts of the country. If you have evidence on these issues please submit it here by 23:59 on Thursday 1 May 2025. Please look at the requirements for written evidence submissions and note that the Committee cannot accept material as evidence that is published elsewhere. Please note that the Committee’s inquiry cannot assist with individual cases. If you need help with an individual problem you are having, you may wish to read the information on Parliament’s website about who you can contact with different issues . Show less

5 Recommendations

26 Conclusions

1 Report

1 Oral session

8 Letters

1 Event

Activity timeline 11 events

20 Apr
2026

Correspondence

Letter from the Permanent Secretary at the Department for Work and Pensions to the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee relating to Jobce…

15 Sep
2025

Correspondence

Letter from the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Work and Pensions relating to the 36th Report of Session 2024-25, Jobcentres, 09 …

10 Jul
2025

Correspondence

Letter to the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Work and Pensions relating to Jobcentre work coaches, 10 July 2025

2 Jul
2025

Report published

36th Report - Jobcentres

2 Jul
2025

Correspondence

Letter from the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Work and Pensions relating to the oral evidence session held on 15 May 2025 on Jo…

9 Jun
2025

Correspondence

Letter from the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Work and Pensions relating to the follow up on the oral evidence session on 15 Ma…

9 Jun
2025

Correspondence

Letter from the Director General, Labour Market and Poverty at the Department for Work and Pensions relating to the oral evidence session o…

9 Jun
2025

Correspondence

Letter from the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Work and Pensions relating to the follow up on the oral evidence session on 15 Ma…

19 May
2025

Correspondence

Letter from the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Work and Pensions relating to the Fraud and Error Estimates and the Unfulfilled E…

15 May
2025

Oral evidence

Oral evidence session

15 May
2025

Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House

Committee event

Oral evidence sessions 1 session

15 May 2025

View on parliament.uk

Barbara Bennett · Department of Work and Pensions Katherine Green · Department for Work and Pensions Sir Peter Schofield KCB · Department for Work and Pensions

Reports 1 report · click to expand

Title	HC No.	Published	Items	Response
36th Report - Jobcentres	HC 823	2 Jul 2025	31	Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

5 results

2 Recommendation Accepted

36th Report - Jobcentres

Develop a workforce plan to ensure sufficient work coaches for the new jobs and careers service.

We are concerned that the Department will continue to not have enough work coaches to meet the growing demand for support. The shortage of work coaches has been caused by the Department securing inadequate funding from HM Treasury and by … Read more

Government Response

The government agrees and commits to developing a strategic workforce plan within 12 months as part of the Jobs and Careers Service Programme, which will anticipate workforce needs and ensure appropriate work coach resourcing.

HM Treasury

View details

4 Recommendation Accepted

36th Report - Jobcentres

Publish a strategy for evaluating employment support reforms and regularly refreshing the evidence base.

The Department has not evaluated the effectiveness of its approach to supporting claimants to work for a decade. The Department does not have an up-to-date evidence base from which to assess the suitability of its current approach to supporting claimants … Read more

Government Response

The government agrees and states the recommendation is implemented, pointing to its recently published Evidence and Evaluation Strategy 2025. It details ongoing Universal Credit trials with findings due by the end of 2026, and an evaluation strategy for the Jobs and Careers Service is under development.

HM Treasury

View details

5 Recommendation Accepted

36th Report - Jobcentres

Write to the Committee outlining committed and planned spending of £55 million for jobs service.

It is not fully clear how the Department is spending the £55 million allocated for 2025–26 to test elements of the new jobs and careers service. In the 2024 Autumn Budget, the government allocated £55 million for the Department to … Read more

Government Response

The government agrees and confirms the recommendation is implemented, providing a detailed breakdown of how the £55 million for 2025-26 has been allocated across tests and trials (£15m), alternative delivery solutions (£5m), digital activity (£20m), and resources/staffing (£13m, including a £2m contingency).

HM Treasury

View details

29 Conclusion Accepted

36th Report - Jobcentres

Employment rate consistently falls short of government's long-term 80% target since 2018.

In its November 2024 white paper Get Britain Working, the government described its plans to reform employment support as the first steps to achieving its long-term ambition to achieve an 80% employment rate. From May 2018 to October 2024, the … Read more

Government Response

The government states that it has already set out a roadmap in the Get Britain Working White Paper and highlights the Pathways to Work programme and other cross-government initiatives that contribute to the 80% employment rate ambition.

HM Treasury

View details

30 Conclusion Accepted

36th Report - Jobcentres

Achieving an 80% national employment rate remains a significantly stretching aspiration for the Department.

We asked the Department how big a challenge it will be to get to 80%. The Department told us that it clearly is a stretching aspiration. The Department explained that, to achieve an 80% employment rate, its focus is on … Read more

Government Response

HM Treasury

View details

Government Response AI assessment · 14 of 5 classified

Accepted 5

Accepted in Part 2

Acknowledged 5

Not Addressed 2

Total 5 recs + 26 conclusions

Correspondence 8 letters

20 Apr 2026 To committee Letter from the Permanent Secretary at the Department for Work and Pensions to the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee relating to Jobcentres, 30 March

Parliament page

15 Sep 2025 To committee Letter from the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Work and Pensions relating to the 36th Report of Session 2024-25, Jobcentres, 09 September 2025

Parliament page

10 Jul 2025 From committee Letter to the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Work and Pensions relating to Jobcentre work coaches, 10 July 2025

Parliament page

2 Jul 2025 To committee Letter from the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Work and Pensions relating to the oral evidence session held on 15 May 2025 on Jobcentres, 30 June 2025

Parliament page

9 Jun 2025 To committee Letter from the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Work and Pensions relating to the follow up on the oral evidence session on 15 May on Jobcentres: Jobcentres performance, 29 May 2025

Parliament page

9 Jun 2025 To committee Letter from the Director General, Labour Market and Poverty at the Department for Work and Pensions relating to the oral evidence session on 15 May on Jobcentres, 29 May 2025

Parliament page

9 Jun 2025 To committee Letter from the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Work and Pensions relating to the follow up on the oral evidence session on 15 May on Jobcentres: Personal Independence Payments (PIP) claims, 29 May 2025

Parliament page

19 May 2025 To committee Letter from the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Work and Pensions relating to the Fraud and Error Estimates and the Unfulfilled Eligibility in the Benefit System release, 15 May 2025

Parliament page