Recommendation 2

We are concerned that the Department will continue to not have enough work coaches to meet the growing demand for support. The shortage of work coaches has been caused by the Department securing inadequate funding from HM Treasury and by recruitment and retention challenges. Looking ahead, the demand for work coach support is expected to continue to increase and claimants’ needs are expected to become more complex. The proposals for reform set out in the November 2024 white paper and the March 2025 green paper have significant implications for jobcentres. 4 They include setting up a new jobs and careers service as a universal service not just support for benefit recipients, and providing tailored employment, health and skills support for claimants with a work-limiting health condition or disability. The Department envisages a ‘pyramid’ of support where many people will be able to access and self-serve using digital services, what it called a ‘jobcentre in your pocket’. It foresees that this will help to free up jobcentre resources to provide face-to-face support to those who need it. However, the Department acknowledges that redeploying 1,000 work coaches in 2025–26, to provide intensive support to around 65,000 people with health conditions and disabilities, will reduce the support available for other Universal Credit claimants. recommendation The Department should develop a workforce plan within twelve months and as part of its work to design and set up the new jobs and careers service. The plan should include details of the steps that the Department will take to make sure it has enough work coaches to provide face-to-face support to people who need it.