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. …

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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

4 items
2 Conclusion 4th Report – Get Britain Working: Refor… Acknowledged

Publicly consult on claimant commitment changes, replacing blanket requirements with personalised action plans.

Instead of an internal review, DWP should publicly consult on changes to the claimant commitment. DWP should consider removing blanket requirements, such as the 35-hour job search requirement, and replacing them with a personalised action plan that is co-developed between the claimant and work coach, and relevant to the claimant’s …

Government response. The government states that the new Jobs and Careers Service will provide personalised employment support and will set out what support and advice customers can expect once the service is developed. It is considering a statement of service and will …
Department for Work and Pensions
31 Conclusion 4th Report – Get Britain Working: Refor… Acknowledged

Local tailoring of employment services is welcome, but requires balance with national consistency.

We welcome the Government’s commitment to develop a locally tailored and embedded service. Local areas are best placed to understand the needs of their population and labour markets. Jobcentres need to be aware of the different local needs of people in their areas, particularly the needs of those who face …

Government response. The government welcomes the commitment to develop a locally tailored and embedded service, recognizing the importance of local areas understanding the needs of their population and labour markets.
Department for Work and Pensions
3 Recommendation 5th Report - Get Britain Working: Creat… Acknowledged

National Careers Service remains under-valued and under-utilised due to funding and awareness issues

The National Careers Service (NCS) is an under-valued and under-utilised resource. Due to a lack of funding and pressure to meet unhelpful targets, careers advisers often can’t spend enough time with people and have to focus on low impact interventions. There is also limited awareness of careers advice among Jobcentre …

Government response. The government commits to preserving the distinct roles of careers advisers and fostering collaboration with work coaches within the new integrated service, retaining current qualification standards. It is exploring the development of a dedicated training pathway for careers advisers, with …
Department for Work and Pensions
5 Conclusion 5th Report - Get Britain Working: Creat… Acknowledged

Integrating careers advice into Jobcentres risks undermining its distinct professional role

Integrating careers advice into Jobcentres is an exciting opportunity: the culture of careers advice, with its focus on the individual and long-term outcomes, offers a blueprint to improve the culture of Jobcentres. However, there are risks that DWP will have to manage. Careers advice is a skilled profession, requiring qualities …

Government response. The government states that responsibility for adult careers transferred from DfE to DWP on 16 September 2025, with a commitment to maintaining alignment with DfE's provision for young people. It plans for adult careers support to be primarily digital self-service, …
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…