Recommendation 3

The Department does not publish data on work coach numbers or into-work rates, which means it is not clear how well local jobcentres are supporting claimants to work. The Department publishes data on its Stat-Xplore platform relating to the number of claimants in each Universal Credit labour market category at jobcentre level. It does not, however, publish data on work coach numbers compared with need or on jobcentre performance in helping people move into work. The NAO report presented work coach data for the Department’s seven regions and performance data for the regions and for the 37 districts. These data show substantial variation between different parts of the country. For example, from December 2023 to November 2024, the district into-work rate ranged from 5.5% in Birmingham and Solihull to 10.8% in Northern Scotland. There is also variation in the shortfall of work coaches at jobcentre level, and the Department seeks to manage the impact of the variation by having jobcentres with more work coaches support those with fewer. recommendation The Department should set out how it will increase transparency around jobcentres, for example by regularly publishing jobcentre level data on its Stat-Xplore platform, including data on work coach numbers against need and into-work rates. This regular reporting should start before the end of 2025. 5