Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Conclusion 18
36th Report - Jobcentres
Published 2 Jul 2025
Addressed to HM Treasury
Public Accounts Committee Jobcentres All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
In terms of the performance of jobcentres over time, the average monthly into-work rate reduced during the COVID-19 pandemic from 8.8% in 2018–19 to 7.2% in 2020–21. The rate then increased to 9.7% in 2021–22, but declined in the following two years, to 8.2% in 2023–24.38 There is substantial variation in performance across the Department’s seven jobcentre regions and 37 districts. At regional level, in the 12 months from December 2023 to November 2024, Southern England had the highest average monthly proportion of Universal Credit claimants moving into work (8.7%) while London and Essex had the lowest proportion (7.3%). At district level, Birmingham and Solihull had the lowest average monthly into-work rate at 5.5% and Northern Scotland had the highest at 10.8%.39
From: Public Accounts Committee, 36th Report - Jobcentres (HC 823), 2 July 2025
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 4 June 2026 (deadline 2 September 2025).