Select Committee · Work and Pensions Committee

Get Britain Working: Reforming Jobcentres

Status: Closed Opened: 23 Jan 2025 Closed: 1 Jan 2026 24 recommendations 17 conclusions 2 reports

The Work and Pension Committee is conducting an inquiry into Jobcentres, the first in a series of inquiries in response to the Government’s Get Britain Working White Paper . The Government wants to increase employment and to help achieve this, it plans to reform Jobcentres, which it says are too focused on monitoring benefit compliance. …

Clear

Reports

2 reports
Title HC No. Published Items Response
5th Report - Get Britain Working: Creating a new jobs and c… HC 1286 11 Sep 2025 10 Responded
4th Report – Get Britain Working: Reforming Jobcentres HC 653 8 Sep 2025 31 Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

6 items
20 Recommendation 4th Report – Get Britain Working: Refor… Accepted in Part

Add long-term employment and job quality metrics to Jobcentre performance framework and incentivise providers.

To encourage Jobcentres to adopt longer-term thinking, DWP should add long-term employment metrics to its Jobcentre performance monitoring framework, such as whether people are still in work six or twelve months after leaving Jobcentres. DWP should also introduce metrics that can measure job quality, in addition to the information it …

Government response. The government partially accepts, stating they already measure sustained earnings over 3 and 6 months as part of their framework. However, they do not intend to introduce job quality metrics due to data limitations and suitability concerns, but are committed …
Department for Work and Pensions
22 Recommendation 4th Report – Get Britain Working: Refor… Accepted in Part

Rebuild employer trust by setting Jobcentre engagement targets and recruiting specialist liaison officers.

DWP needs to rebuild trust with employers. This will require making better use of its network of Jobcentres and the employer advisers who work in them. To start, DWP should consider setting individual Jobcentres targets for engaging local employers. This engagement should go beyond a surface-level relationship and focus on …

Government response. The government partially accepts, supporting the intent to strengthen employer engagement and having launched an Employer Strategy. They are exploring metrics for local engagement and trialling a Recruitment Consultant role, but do not believe setting uniform targets for Jobcentres is …
Department for Work and Pensions
24 Conclusion 4th Report – Get Britain Working: Refor… Accepted in Part

Jobcentres require deeper integration with voluntary and community sectors to address complex employment barriers.

Many people who use Jobcentres have multiple and complex needs, which can act as barriers to them securing employment. Too often, issues that prevent people from finding jobs go unaddressed. Jobcentres and Jobcentre staff will not be able to address these barriers on their own. If DWP is serious about …

Government response. The government partially accepts, recognising the value of the voluntary sector and committing to actively collaborate with them for the new Jobs and Careers service. They are also developing a mapping tool to audit and baseline existing outreach partnership activity …
Department for Work and Pensions
25 Recommendation 4th Report – Get Britain Working: Refor… Accepted in Part

Audit existing Jobcentre partnerships with the voluntary and community sector to develop new operational models.

DWP should improve how it works with the voluntary and community sector, but first it needs to understand its current position. DWP should undertake an audit of its existing partnership work. It should use this to develop new operational models and to identify opportunities for better local partnerships, such as …

Government response. The government partially accepts, committing to actively collaborate with the voluntary and community sector and develop a mapping tool to audit and baseline existing outreach partnership activity across the Jobcentre network. This tool will standardise data collection to inform a …
Department for Work and Pensions
30 Recommendation 4th Report – Get Britain Working: Refor… Accepted in Part

Reduce visibility of security guards in Jobcentres, ensuring a more welcoming entry experience.

Jobseekers are not criminals and shouldn’t be greeted at Jobcentres by security guards. DWP should make security guards much less visible in Jobcentres, with a more welcoming presence when people enter. (Recommendation, Paragraph 133)

Government response. The government partially accepts, stating they will ensure Security Officers are available for safety but will make them more approachable through new uniforms and training. They will also improve safety through technology, rather than solely relying on security guards, and …
Department for Work and Pensions
7 Recommendation 5th Report - Get Britain Working: Creat… Accepted in Part

Publish outcome measures for the new careers service capturing long-term career journeys

In the next 6 months, DWP should write to us with details of how it will measure the performance of the new jobs and careers service. This should include outcome measures for careers advice that capture the steps people take as part of their career journey, and which will encourage …

Government response. The government partially accepts, committing to develop robust performance measures for the new Jobs and Careers Service, including specific outcome measures for careers advice, building on the Get Britain Working outcomes. They state the evaluation strategy is under development and …
Department for Work and Pensions

Oral evidence sessions

4 sessions
Date Witnesses
11 Jun 2025 Alison McGovern MP · Department for Work and Pensions, David Barrow · Department for Work and Pensions, Ed Lidington · Ministry of Justice View ↗
23 Apr 2025 Abdi Mohamed · Scope, Andrew McGregor · UNISON, Angela Grant · PCS, Balbir Kaur Chatrik · Centrepoint, Liz Sewell · Belina Grow, Martin Cavanagh · PCS, Sam Reid · Migrant Help View ↗
1 Apr 2025 Idowu Khadijat Morafa · Across Ummah CIC, Jo Rowlands · Leeds City Council, Jo Volpe · Leeds Older People’s Forum, Lauren McKechnie · Age UK Bolton, Paul McGarry · Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s Ageing Hub, Rt Hon Andy Burnham · Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), Sue Forster · Citizens Advice Liverpool, Trish Martin · Southway Housing View ↗
12 Mar 2025 Becci Newton · Institute for Employment Studies, Elizabeth Taylor · Employment Related Services Association (ERSA), Jane Gratton · British Chambers of Commerce, Professor Peter Robertson · Edinburgh Napier University, Ramesh Moher · New Challenge, Saira Hussain · Federation of Small Businesses View ↗

Correspondence

4 letters
DateDirectionTitle
12 Nov 2025 Correspondence from the Secretary of State, relating to the launch of a Report …
3 Sep 2025 To cttee Further letter from the Minister for Employment, responding to the Committee's …
3 Sep 2025 To cttee Letter from the Minister for Employment, responding to the Committee's letter f…
3 Sep 2025 From cttee Letter to the Minister for Employment, following up on the evidence session the…