Source · Select Committees · Work and Pensions Committee
4th Report – Get Britain Working: Reforming Jobcentres
Work and Pensions Committee
HC 653
Published 8 September 2025
Recommendations
10
Accepted
Undertake a detailed review of the work coach model, evaluating impact and empowering coaches.
Recommendation
Over the next year, DWP should undertake a detailed review of its work coach model. It should evaluate the difference work coach support makes to employment outcomes for different groups, identifying those who would most benefit from more support and …
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Government Response Summary
The government accepts the recommendation, stating its Evidence and Evaluation Strategy 2025 already covers work coach support impacts. They commit to publishing a review of available evidence on work coach and third-party employment support by the end of 2026, with further evaluations to follow.
Department for Work and Pensions
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23
Accepted
Expand Jobcentre employer offer with DBT to promote better employment practices and diversity.
Recommendation
Jobcentres offer a golden opportunity for the Government to influence employers and to create more ‘good jobs’. DWP should work with the Department for Business and Trade to expand Jobcentre’s offer to employers. The two Departments should work together to …
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Government Response Summary
The government accepts the recommendation, stating DWP is actively working with the Department for Business and Trade to embed employment support within sector plans and will explore further coordination. They are committed to formalising these partnerships through Memoranda of Understanding to strengthen alignment across government.
Department for Work and Pensions
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26
Accepted
Introduce Jobcentre outreach work as a core service, taking support into local communities.
Recommendation
DWP needs to break Jobcentres out of their four walls. It should make outreach work, with staff taking Jobcentre services into the community and to locations that people trust, a core part of the new service. DWP should include larger-scale …
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Government Response Summary
The government accepts the recommendation, developing a Flexible Delivery Network model to bring DWP support into local communities. They are testing mobile delivery via vans, designing a toolkit for community-based delivery, and using a mapping tool to identify further outreach opportunities.
Department for Work and Pensions
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28
Accepted
Detail plans for revitalising the Jobcentre estate, ensuring adaptability and co-location of services.
Recommendation
In its response to this report, DWP should set out how it will use its increased capital funds to revitalise the Jobcentre estate. DWP needs to make more of its Jobcentre spaces and it should make sure that the physical …
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Government Response Summary
The government accepts, detailing the Workplace Transformation Programme, capital investment, and Innovation Hubs to revitalise and adapt Jobcentre spaces. They are also implementing a comprehensive asset management strategy to prevent future dilapidation.
Department for Work and Pensions
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29
Accepted
Develop a comprehensive plan to ensure every Jobcentre meets full accessibility requirements immediately.
Recommendation
It is not acceptable that some Jobcentres remain inaccessible to some of the people who most need their support. In its response, DWP should set out its plan for ensuring that every Jobcentre meets full accessibility requirements. (Recommendation, Paragraph 132)
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Government Response Summary
The government partially accepts, stating current Jobcentres are compliant and outlining a comprehensive, continually evolving accessibility strategy. This includes embedding accessibility into new service design, exploring assistive technology, implementing measurable actions to resolve issues, and transparent monitoring and reporting.
Department for Work and Pensions
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Conclusions (5)
1
Conclusion
Accepted
Claimant commitments should be a cornerstone of the relationship between claimants and work coaches. But too often, commitments set work search requirements that are too generic and sometimes counter-productive (such as completing a set number of applications or spending 35-hours job searching per week). We heard that complying with these …
Government Response Summary
The government has completed an internal review of the Claimant Commitment and is currently testing a new policy model through the Jobs and Careers Service ‘Pathfinder’ to shift focus from compliance to individual employment support. They will review the policy further based on initial Pathfinder findings, but do not agree a public consultation is necessary at this stage as testing is already underway.
3
Conclusion
Accepted
To demonstrate the Government’s commitment to supporting rather than coercing people into employment, it should introduce an employment support guarantee that sets out the personalised support and advice people can expect to receive from the new jobs and careers service. (Recommendation, Paragraph 24)
Government Response Summary
The government is exploring alternative approaches to how claimants demonstrate conditionality within the Pathfinder, including providing evidence through Universal Credit accounts for digitally capable individuals. It partially accepts the recommendation to introduce an employment support guarantee, stating that it will gather feedback, review policy, and set out next steps in a report on delivering the Jobs and Careers Service in spring 2026.
4
Conclusion
Accepted
We were encouraged to hear that the Government wants to shift the focus of Jobcentre appointments away from monitoring benefit compliance and towards personalised employment support. This shift is urgently needed. The Department now needs to expand on how it will deliver this change. 52 It is not clear how …
Government Response Summary
The government states that work coaches already tailor commitments to personal circumstances and are constantly reviewing training. While they are testing broader commitments within the Pathfinder program, they have no current plans for further research into new approaches and reaffirm their belief in conditionality and sanctions.
9
Conclusion
Accepted
Work coaches are an incredible resource but they are currently being ineffectively deployed. Work coaches often do not have enough time with claimants to have an impact, with many appointments no more than 10 minutes long: not nearly enough to address the needs of many claimants who are further from …
Government Response Summary
The government has developed a draft policy framework to shift focus from compliance checking to personalised employment support, is testing a two-stage approach for Claimant Commitment meetings, and is developing a Work Coach Academy to enhance work coach skills and capabilities.
27
Conclusion
Accepted
Jobcentres are not places that people want to go to. They are often run-down and lack basic facilities, including accessibility features. An intimidating security presence can create additional barriers for some. It will be important that when people walk through the door of the new service, it does not look …
Government Response Summary
The government accepts the observation, committing to transform Jobcentre spaces through capital investment and the Workplace Transformation Programme. They are creating Innovation Hubs to test new designs and improve customer experience, aiming to make Jobcentres more welcoming.