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
5
Deferred
Clarify changes to benefit compliance monitoring and its integration into Jobcentre appointments.
Recommendation
In its response to this report, DWP should clarify what changes it is making to the system for monitoring compliance with benefit conditions. In particular, it should set out how it will move benefit monitoring “from the foreground to the …
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Government Response Summary
The government states that further details on changes to benefit monitoring will be provided in due course, following consideration of consultation findings and the conclusion of a departmental safeguarding review currently underway.
Department for Work and Pensions
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7
Deferred
Develop a new approach to benefit sanctions, incorporating trauma-informed decisions and updated research.
Recommendation
Sanctions risk undermining the work of Jobcentres and acting against the Government’s employment goals. DWP must develop a new approach to the use of sanctions. It should consider: • adopting a trauma-informed approach to sanctioning decisions; • issuing warnings rather …
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Government Response Summary
The government's response detailed its plans for the new Jobs and Careers digital service, outlining its design and accessibility, but it did not address any of the specific recommendations or questions regarding a new approach to the use of sanctions.
Department for Work and Pensions
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8
Deferred
Set out detailed plans for building safeguarding and health impact assessment into new services.
Recommendation
DWP should set out more detail about how it will build a systems-based approach to safeguarding into the new jobs and careers service, including its conditionality and sanctions policy. We previously recommended that the Chief Medical Advisor assess the potential …
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Government Response Summary
The government accepts the need for a systems-based safeguarding approach and health impact assessments, but defers providing further detail pending consultation findings, the conclusion of a departmental safeguarding review, and the development of a wider safeguarding approach.
Department for Work and Pensions
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11
Deferred
DWP personalised work coach support plans lack clear strategy and evidence base.
Recommendation
We were encouraged to hear that DWP wants work coaches to have more time with claimants and to deliver more personalised support. Coaching that is tailored to the aspirations of the service user and that seeks to identify the unique …
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Government Response Summary
The government initially states they do not accept the premise of the conclusion, describing their existing internal capacity modelling. However, they then agree to set out a formal framework for managing work coach demand but are unable to do so currently, deferring this until future plans for the Jobs and Careers service are developed.
Department for Work and Pensions
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12
Deferred
Manage work coach capacity better by modelling demand and developing prioritisation frameworks.
Recommendation
We recommend that DWP looks at how to better manage work coach capacity, including modelling how its planned Jobcentre reforms will change demand for work coach time and capacity. In response to this inquiry, it should set out: • a …
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Government Response Summary
The government's response focused on its Jobcentre Performance Framework, which measures sustained earnings, and stated it does not intend to introduce measures of job quality due to data limitations, completely sidestepping the recommendation to detail plans for managing work coach capacity.
Department for Work and Pensions
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14
Deferred
Provide detailed plans for 'Jobcentre in your pocket' outlining public expectations and journal interaction.
Recommendation
In its response to this report, DWP should provide more details about its plans for a ‘Jobcentre in your pocket’. DWP should set out what the public can expect from a ‘Jobcentre in your pocket’, how it will interact with …
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Government Response Summary
The government's response outlined its collaboration with the Department for Business and Trade to embed employment support within sector plans and referenced broader initiatives like Economic Inactivity Trailblazers and the new Youth Guarantee, but it did not provide any details about the 'Jobcentre in your pocket' digital service.
Department for Work and Pensions
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18
Deferred
Incorporate the good work agenda into benefit conditions and train work coaches accordingly.
Recommendation
DWP should incorporate the good work agenda into claimants’ benefit conditions. Work coaches should agree what constitutes a ‘good job’ for each claimant during a more personalised claimant commitment process. DWP should set out in response to this report how …
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Government Response Summary
The government's response describes its commitment to Jobcentre accessibility and inclusivity within the new Jobs and Careers Service, including exploring assistive technology and an evolving accessibility strategy, but does not address the recommendation on incorporating the 'good work agenda' into benefit conditions or work coach training.
Department for Work and Pensions
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Conclusions (6)
6
Conclusion
Deferred
Sanctions are the sharp end of benefit conditionality. DWP’s own evidence shows that sanctions don’t work, causing people to move more slowly into work and to earn less. While sanctions have a place in the benefits system, there is clear evidence that their current application is not working. A more …
Government Response Summary
The government outlined initiatives for more personalised employment support through the new Jobs and Careers Service and Coaching Academy, and committed to publishing a review of employment support evidence by the end of 2026, but it did not directly address the committee's conclusion regarding the ineffectiveness or use of sanctions.
13
Conclusion
Deferred
DWP’s solution to a lack of work coach capacity is to use digital tools, with its flagship plan being a ‘Jobcentre in your pocket’. DWP plans to deliver this digital tool in 2027–28, but has yet to define what it is, how it will work and who it is for. …
Government Response Summary
The government's response focused on its Employer Strategy and the trial of a Recruitment Consultant role in Wakefield to strengthen engagement with local employers, but did not address the committee's concerns about the 'Jobcentre in your pocket' digital tool or the risks of AI technology.
15
Conclusion
Deferred
DWP should work with the employment support sector to develop a framework for the ethical use of AI in employment support. (Recommendation, Paragraph 78) ‘Good jobs’ not ‘any jobs’
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledged the value of the voluntary sector and stated it is actively collaborating with its representatives, and it is developing a mapping tool to audit and understand outreach partnership activity across its Jobcentre network, but it did not address the recommendation to develop an ethical framework for AI in employment support.
16
Conclusion
Deferred
The previous Government’s ‘ABC’ approach to employment support (any job, better job, career) has not worked. While it may move people off benefits in the short-term, it all too often does not lead to long-term, sustainable employment and exacerbates the low-pay, no-pay cycle. This is not a good outcome for …
Government Response Summary
The government committed to developing and testing a Flexible Delivery Network model, including mobile delivery vans in three geographies and a toolkit for community-based support, to address economic inactivity. However, it did not explicitly address the committee's call to move away from an 'any job' approach towards encouraging 'good jobs' even if it means longer periods on benefits.
17
Conclusion
Deferred
As a first step to changing the approach of Jobcentres, DWP should return the period during which jobseekers can pursue opportunities in their preferred sector to 3 months. (Recommendation, Paragraph 92)
Government Response Summary
The government's response focuses on capital investment in Jobcentre physical infrastructure and the Workplace Transformation Programme, detailing efforts to improve building design and technology, which does not address the recommendation about the job search period for preferred sectors.
19
Conclusion
Deferred
We welcome the Government’s focus on ‘good work’. Currently, Jobcentres too often prioritise short-term measures, such as benefit off-flow, rather than whether claimants enter good-quality, sustainable employment. Good jobs are better for citizens, employers and the state, while supporting a productive economy. DWP has the opportunity to bring the good …
Government Response Summary
The government's response details changes to Jobcentre security services, including a new contract with Mitie, Security Officer training, and the use of modern technology to improve safety, which does not address the recommendation on shifting focus towards good-quality, sustainable employment.