Recommendations & Conclusions
4 items
3
Recommendation
60th Report - DWP follow-up: Autumn 2025
Rejected
Greater transparency about jobcentre performance is needed to enable effective local scrutiny. In our July 2025 report on Jobcentres, we recommended that the Department should set out how it will increase transparency around jobcentres, for example by regularly publishing jobcentre-level data, including data on work coach numbers against need and …
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Greater transparency about jobcentre performance is needed to enable effective local scrutiny. In our July 2025 report on Jobcentres, we recommended that the Department should set out how it will increase transparency around jobcentres, for example by regularly publishing jobcentre-level data, including data on work coach numbers against need and into-work rates. On the day of our evidence session in October 2025, the Department published the first in a new series of quarterly labour market insights. This publication provides into-work data at jobcentre district and local authority level but not for individual jobcentres, and provides no information on work coach numbers. In seeking to justify its approach, the Department says that data at jobcentre level are less robust and subject to more volatility, and that it is concerned that publishing data at this level could lead to it having to explain the particular circumstances of each jobcentre, which would require a lot of resources. We are disappointed by this response and, while we welcome the new publication, without greater transparency, effective local scrutiny of jobcentre performance will not be possible. recommendation The Department should be more transparent by implementing our previous recommendation to publish regularly jobcentre-level data, including data on work coach numbers against need and into-work rates. This data could be included in the new quarterly labour market insights publication. 4
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Government response AI summary
The government rejects the recommendation to regularly publish jobcentre-level data on work coach numbers and into-work rates, stating that district and local authority level data is more appropriate for monitoring performance due to the risk of over-interpreting local fluctuations.
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HM Treasury
13
Recommendation
60th Report - DWP follow-up: Autumn 2025
Rejected
In our July 2025 report on Jobcentres, we also scrutinised jobcentre performance. We noted that, although the Department published data on its Stat-Xplore platform relating to the number of claimants in each Universal Credit labour market category at jobcentre level, it did not 17 Letter from the Department for Work …
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In our July 2025 report on Jobcentres, we also scrutinised jobcentre performance. We noted that, although the Department published data on its Stat-Xplore platform relating to the number of claimants in each Universal Credit labour market category at jobcentre level, it did not 17 Letter from the Department for Work and Pensions, 30 June 2025 18 Letter from the Department for Work and Pensions, 9 September 2025 19 Q 9 10 publish data on work coach numbers compared with need or on jobcentre performance in helping people move into work. We also reported that there was variation between different parts of the country in the shortfall of work coaches and in performance. We recommended that the Department should set out how it will increase transparency around jobcentres, for example by regularly publishing jobcentre-level data, including data on work coach numbers against need and into-work rates.20
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Government response AI summary
The government disagrees with the recommendation to publish jobcentre-level data, stating that the right level to monitor performance is at a district and local authority level. However, they will continue to develop the Get Britain Working Labour Market Insights publication and would be happy to …
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HM Treasury
14
Conclusion
60th Report - DWP follow-up: Autumn 2025
Rejected
In response to our recommendation, on the day of our evidence session in October 2025, the Department published the first in a new series of quarterly labour market insights. The Department explained that this publication provided information at jobcentre district level and local authority level, which allowed it to monitor …
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In response to our recommendation, on the day of our evidence session in October 2025, the Department published the first in a new series of quarterly labour market insights. The Department explained that this publication provided information at jobcentre district level and local authority level, which allowed it to monitor progress outcomes across the different conditionality groups of Universal Credit.21 However, we note that the publication does not give data on individual jobcentres, and provides no information on work coach numbers.
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Government response AI summary
The government disagrees, stating the right level to monitor performance is at a district and local authority level, citing potential over-interpretation of short-term fluctuations at the jobcentre level. It is developing its quarterly Labour Market Insights and welcomes feedback.
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HM Treasury
15
Recommendation
60th Report - DWP follow-up: Autumn 2025
Rejected
We asked the Department why it had not published performance data at jobcentre level as we had requested. The Department said that the challenge of presenting data at jobcentre level was that the geography of a jobcentre could be relatively small and the position could be distorted by someone leaving …
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We asked the Department why it had not published performance data at jobcentre level as we had requested. The Department said that the challenge of presenting data at jobcentre level was that the geography of a jobcentre could be relatively small and the position could be distorted by someone leaving a jobcentre or a major employer suddenly going out of business. It argued that the danger in giving data for some 640 jobcentres was that it would probably have to provide a commentary to explain the particular circumstances of each jobcentre, and that a lot of resources would go into doing that. The Department also said that the level of assurance over the quality of the data diminished when one went down to jobcentre level so its preference was to report data that had been aggregated.22 20 Committee of Public Accounts, Jobcentres, Thirty-Sixth Report of Session 2024–25, HC 823, 2 July 2025, p 5 and 14 21 Qq 2-3; DWP, Get Britain Working: Labour Market Insights, 30 October 2025 22 Q 15 11 2 Customer service, cyber security and legacy IT Introduction
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Government response AI summary
The government disagrees, stating the right level to monitor performance is at a district and local authority level, citing potential over-interpretation of short-term fluctuations at the jobcentre level. It is developing its quarterly Labour Market Insights and welcomes feedback.
Read full response →
HM Treasury