Recommendations & Conclusions
5 items
25
Conclusion
36th Report - Jobcentres
Acknowledged
We asked how the Department will make sure it provides a better service without evidence.53 The Department said it wants to conduct evaluations in a different way, to get test results quickly in order to help develop the new jobs and careers service. The Department said it is comparing and …
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We asked how the Department will make sure it provides a better service without evidence.53 The Department said it wants to conduct evaluations in a different way, to get test results quickly in order to help develop the new jobs and careers service. The Department said it is comparing and contrasting the evidence that it gathers by taking different approaches. It gave an example where it is using its core support model in one place and a different approach in another thereby creating groups 49 C&AG’s Report, para 1.12 50 C&AG’s Report, para 1.13 51 Q 75 52 C&AG’s Report, para 1.14 53 Q 76 16 of claimants for whom it can compare outcomes. The Department said it would use this approach to see if an intervention is less effective than the core regime, and if so it can be stopped.54 54 Qq 75, 76 17 3 Planned reforms The investment in reforms to employment support
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Government response AI summary
The government is using test and learn principles, including Pathfinders, to test the Jobs and Careers Service, and its evaluation strategy is under development with research to be published at a future date.
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HM Treasury
26
Conclusion
36th Report - Jobcentres
Acknowledged
In the 2024 Autumn Budget, the government allocated £55 million for the Department to invest in developing new digital services and testing elements of the jobs and careers service in 2025–26.55 We asked the Department what progress has been made in deciding how to use the extra £55 million in …
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In the 2024 Autumn Budget, the government allocated £55 million for the Department to invest in developing new digital services and testing elements of the jobs and careers service in 2025–26.55 We asked the Department what progress has been made in deciding how to use the extra £55 million in funding it had been allocated.56 It told us that it was spending some of the money on a coaching academy to upskills its work coaches on what the jobs and careers service is going to be, on its ‘pathfinder projects’ around parts of the country, and on developing digital services for the new jobs and careers service.57
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Government response AI summary
The government outlines how the allocated £55 million is being spent on testing and developing the new Jobs and Careers Service, including pathfinder projects, digital services, and staff training.
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HM Treasury
27
Conclusion
36th Report - Jobcentres
Acknowledged
The Department explained it has a phased approach to the jobs and careers service. It said its ‘pathfinder projects’ are part of the first phase, testing new ways of delivering its services. In phase two, in 2026–27, it told us it would roll out further the things it has tried …
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The Department explained it has a phased approach to the jobs and careers service. It said its ‘pathfinder projects’ are part of the first phase, testing new ways of delivering its services. In phase two, in 2026–27, it told us it would roll out further the things it has tried that have worked.58 The Department told us, for example, that it is trialling putting work coaches in GP surgeries and engaging people outside of jobcentres. The Department referenced a success story from Poplar in London, where it has seen positive results of people having conversations with a work coach in a setting that is not the jobcentre and getting different types of support. It said that it has a presence in the GP surgery and community centre, and that it is running practical and skills classes. It stated that results in the Poplar example seems to be making a big difference for people who are long-term unemployed.59
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Government response AI summary
The government is using test and learn principles, including Pathfinders, to test the Jobs and Careers Service, and its evaluation strategy is under development with research to be published at a future date.
Read full response →
HM Treasury
28
Conclusion
36th Report - Jobcentres
Acknowledged
The Department emphasised that its investment committee closely controls how it allocates the £55 million funding, and that it commits money for different proposals in packets. The Department also said, however, that it has not fully allocated the £55 million in extra funding, and that funding 55 C&AG’s Report, para …
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The Department emphasised that its investment committee closely controls how it allocates the £55 million funding, and that it commits money for different proposals in packets. The Department also said, however, that it has not fully allocated the £55 million in extra funding, and that funding 55 C&AG’s Report, para 1.18 56 Q 71 57 Qq 43, 57, 71 58 Q 57 59 Qq 74, 76 18 is still available for good proposals coming forward from different parts of the organisation. It also did not indicate how much of the £55 million has so far been committed and how much is left to be allocated.60 Implementing Government’s long-term ambition for an 80% employment rate
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Government response AI summary
The government explains how the £55 million is being allocated for the Jobs and Careers Service, including testing, digital activity and staff training, and that re-allocations are possible within the programme governance.
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HM Treasury
31
Conclusion
36th Report - Jobcentres
Acknowledged
We asked the Department how it would measure the success of the new service and how it would measure the sustainability and quality of employment that people move into.63 In April 2025, the Department published Get Britain Working outcomes setting out eight outcome metrics that the government will monitor as …
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We asked the Department how it would measure the success of the new service and how it would measure the sustainability and quality of employment that people move into.63 In April 2025, the Department published Get Britain Working outcomes setting out eight outcome metrics that the government will monitor as it implements its reforms.64 The Department told us its eight metrics focus on the particular areas, groups and characteristics of individuals with a much lower employment rate than 80%. It has, for example, a metric about reducing the gap between the median employment rate and the bottom 10% in terms of localities. It also has other metrics that are about characteristics, such as bringing down the health-related inactivity rate and reducing the proportion of young people not in education, training or employment.65 The Department told us it plans to use these metrics to track performance and to identify where the barriers are as part of a place-based and characteristic-based strategy. The Department has said it will publish data on these metrics annually, starting in October 2025.66 60 Qq 72, 73 61 C&AG’s Report, para 1.15 62 Qq 68, 69 63 Qq 66-67 64 The Department for Work and Pensions, Get Britain Working outcomes, April 2025 65 Qq 68, 69 66 The Department for Work and Pensions, Get Britain Working outcomes, April 2025 19
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Government response AI summary
The government highlights that it has published a set of intermediate metrics alongside the 80% employment rate target, and it will publish annual progress updates against these, starting in Autumn 2025.
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HM Treasury