Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 3
3
Rejected
Publish regular jobcentre-level data on work coach numbers and into-work rates for transparency.
Recommendation
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
Government Response 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.
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government
Rejected
The government disagrees with the Committee’s recommendation. The department has provided the Committee with jobcentre level data on work coach numbers in the Committee members’ constituencies, but the department’s view remains that the right level to monitor performance is at a district and local authority level. This is because jobcentres work collectively across their geographies, and there is a danger of over interpretation of short-term fluctuations at a more local level. The into-work rates may, for example, fluctuate due to the arrival of a new employer or new job opportunities, so the figures could say more about changes in the local labour market than about jobcentre performance. The department has recently started publishing its quarterly Get Britain Working Labour Market Insights. This allows stakeholders to review progress of their local jobcentre district and jobcentres within the local authority area on into-work rates. The department will be developing this publication and would be happy to take feedback from the Committee over the coming quarters as this data evolves.