12
Accepted
More than half of jobcentres reduced claimant support due to work coach shortages.
Conclusion
To help deal with the shortfall in work coaches, the Department allows jobcentres that are under the most pressure in terms of work coaches’ caseload to reduce the support they provide for claimants. In September 2023, the Department introduced a local flexibility framework which sets out five measures that jobcentres can implement in order. For example, the first measure involves shortening the initial meeting with claimants from 50 to 30 minutes and the second measure is to reduce the frequency with which some claimants meet a work coach from weekly or fortnightly to monthly. The Department allows jobcentres to implement measures in the framework if their work coaches have a caseload of more than 110 cases and this position is forecast to continue for at least three months. From September 2023 to November 2024, more than half (57%) of jobcentres used the framework at some point to reduce the support they provide to claimants to help manage their workload.24
Government Response Summary
The government has made certain elements of the local flexibility framework permanent as part of a revised approach to resourcing, providing detailed evidence to the Committee for these changes and considering the recommendation implemented.
Government Response
Accepted
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
1.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented 1.2 The Department for Work and Pensions (the department) takes very seriously its responsibilities with regard to ensuring claimants have the right support from work coaches and the government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. 1.3 The department wrote to the Committee on 30 June, following the session on 15 May, setting out the revised approach to determining resourcing levels and priorities. As that letter set out, this new approach involves making certain elements of the local flexibility framework permanent. 1.4 The letter also set out the evidence on which the decision to implement these changes was made. As requested by the Committee in their subsequent letter of 10 July, the department has provided more detail in its letter of 9 September 2025 on the evidence related to these changes alongside this Treasury minute and therefore considers this recommendation to have been implemented.
Source
Committee
Public Accounts Committee
Inquiry
Jobcentres
Report
36th Report - Jobcentres
02 Jul 2025
HC 823
Addressee Bodies
HM Treasury
Timeline
Recommendation age
1.1 yr
Report published
02 Jul 2025