Source · Select Committees · Work and Pensions Committee
Recommendation 35
35
Paragraph: 152
We welcome the announcement of funding for the recruitment of over 13,500 new Work Coaches—double...
Conclusion
We welcome the announcement of funding for the recruitment of over 13,500 new Work Coaches—double the current number—over the next financial year. This is an ambitious programme of recruitment. The Committee would welcome a written update from the Department, by the end of the calendar year, on how the recruitment is progressing. This should include, but not be limited to: how many of the new Work Coaches are in post; the Department’s progress in acquiring new estate to accommodate the new staff; and what impact the introduction of new staff has had on payment timeliness. The Department should then provide monthly updates on this to the Committee thereafter. As part of this, the Department should work with local authorities to identify any additional space that Jobcentres can expand into or share with local authorities. Depending on who space is shared with, DWP may find that it is able to offer better support to claimants through improved communication and collaboration.
Paragraph Reference:
152
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
The Department is continually impacting and assessing the service being offered to claimants and we keep staff numbers and estates provision under constant review as part of our response to the impact of COVID-19 on the labour market. The Department will continue to build additional Work Coach capacity and has committed to increasing the number of Work Coaches by 13,500 by end of March 2021. The Department has achieved its initial target of recruiting 4,500 extra Work Coaches by the end of October 2020 and we are on track to recruit and deploy a further 9,000 by March 2021. Work Coach recruitment and deployment is dependent upon safe Departmental front and back of house estates capacity to ensure compliance with social distancing guidelines. The Department is currently executing a plan to maximise estates capacity through a number of initiatives including: exploiting unused space in Jobcentres and Service Centres; using space in our Corporate Centre Hub locations; using Other Government Department (OGD) estate - including local authorities; re-instating mothballed sites and securing temporary new estate. There is some colocation with local authorities but this caused some issues as offices were kept closed during the pandemic, limiting the capability of work coaches to offer support. The Department will ensure that relevant updates are supplied to Parliament surrounding work coach recruitment and estates expansion but does not agree that monthly updates to this end are appropriate.