Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
60th Report - DWP follow-up: Autumn 2025
Public Accounts Committee
HC 1447
Published 9 January 2026
Recommendations
8
Acknowledged
DWP insources National Careers Service advice by October 2026, committing to retain staff skills.
Recommendation
The Department said that it was in the process of setting up the new jobs and careers service, which would need to be done by October 2026 when the current National Careers Service contracts came to an end. It had …
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Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the importance of retaining skills from the National Careers Service providers and has transferred responsibility for adult skills and careers to DWP to create a single government lead. It outlines the plan for the Jobs and Careers Service.
HM Treasury
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Conclusions (13)
1
Conclusion
Acknowledged
We took evidence from the Department for Work and Pensions (the Department) to follow up on issues arising from our recent scrutiny of a range of topics.1
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the committee's introductory statement and outlines its ongoing reforms to the Post-16 education and skills system, including the transfer of adult skills and careers responsibility to the DWP, the creation of the Jobs and Careers Service, and the integration of the National Careers Service with Jobcentre Plus by October 2026. An update will be published in Spring 2026.
6
Conclusion
Acknowledged
The Department told us that, at one level, machinery of government changes were straightforward because one could announce them; but, at another level, there was a lot of detailed delivery work that needed to happen. It said that it was bringing over officials from the Department for Education into the …
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the importance of access to education and skills and has transferred responsibility for adult skills and careers to DWP to create a single government lead. It outlines the plan for the Jobs and Careers Service.
7
Conclusion
Acknowledged
We asked the Department about the merger of jobcentres with the National Careers Service and specifically about how it would do better at giving advice to young people about what their wishes and skills were best 7 Machinery of Government – Skills, HCWS930, 16 September 2025 8 HM Government, Post-16 …
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation and will be bringing together the National Careers Service with Jobcentre Plus from 1 October 2026. As the new service is being developed, the department will look to incorporate information on users’ skills and available provision to signpost people to training where they have gaps that need addressing.
10
Conclusion
Acknowledged
In June 2025, just before we published our report, the Department wrote to tell us that it had made three of the measures in the framework permanent. Two of these measures involved reducing the frequency of appointments for customers in the Intensive Work Search group. The third measure was shortening …
Government Response Summary
The government will conduct qualitative research to understand the impact of the 30-minute initial claimant commitment meeting on the claimant experience, with findings used in developing the Jobs and Careers Service.
11
Conclusion
Acknowledged
In September 2025, the Department wrote to us again and acknowledged that it did not hold quantitative evidence on the impact of changing the length of the first meeting claimants have with a work coach. It said that, as this measure was part of the local flexibility framework, many jobcentres …
Government Response Summary
The government will conduct qualitative research to understand the impact of the 30-minute initial claimant commitment meeting on the claimant experience, with findings used in developing the Jobs and Careers Service.
17
Conclusion
Acknowledged
The Department recognises that significant parts of its services remain largely unmodernised. Its Service Modernisation Programme is an 11-year organisation-wide programme, estimated to cost £312.1 million and running from 2022–23 to 2032–33, which is seeking to deliver benefits for customers, staff and taxpayers. This programme includes plans to upgrade substantial …
Government Response Summary
Acknowledges the statement and repeats it.
20
Conclusion
Acknowledged
We noted examples of constituents who had waited over a year for their PIP claims to be processed, and that the Department had told a Member’s office that claims would take more than 12 months.28 These delays can cause claimants to get into debt and push them into poverty.29 The …
Government Response Summary
The department has reviewed its timeliness standards, which reflect current policy and drive correct outcomes and will include this in the 2025-26 ARA. The department will however write to the Committee to provide the information available as requested, by the end of March 2026, to close this recommendation.
21
Conclusion
Acknowledged
As it has done previously, the Department pointed to the work it was doing to transform the PIP service through its Health Transformation Programme. It explained that, as part of this programme, it was testing an online application form which took claimants to the questions that related to their situation, …
Government Response Summary
The department has reviewed its timeliness standards, which reflect current policy and drive correct outcomes and will include this in the 2025-26 ARA. The department will however write to the Committee to provide the information available as requested, by the end of March 2026, to close this recommendation.
22
Conclusion
Acknowledged
The Department also highlighted that it was trialling the idea of having a named caseworker to support claimants with the PIP application process: helping customers understand the eligibility requirements, talking them through the evidence they needed to provide, acting as a point of contact and explaining the final decision on …
Government Response Summary
The department will provide the committee with requested information by the end of March 2026, and is offering opportunities to reduce journey times through service improvements.
23
Conclusion
Acknowledged
In our May 2025 report on government cyber resilience, we concluded that government had not kept up with the severe and rapidly evolving cyber threat, that there was a longstanding shortage of experienced, technical cyber skills, and that departments had not done enough to prioritise cyber security.35 The Department told …
Government Response Summary
The Department told us that it had identified cyber risk as one of its most significant risks and it was something that its executive team looked at very closely. It stressed that, given the signif
24
Conclusion
Acknowledged
The Department told us that it had its own assurance programme based on the world-class National Institute of Standards and Technology assurance programme, and that it also used the GovAssure process which is the government standard for the most critical systems. The Accounting Officer explained that security as whole was …
Government Response Summary
The Department told us that it had its own assurance programme based on the world-class National Institute of Standards and Technology assurance programme, and that it also used the GovAssure process which is the government standard for the most critical systems.
25
Conclusion
Acknowledged
The Department explained that it had a security incident response framework in place that, in the case of a cyber attack, would enable it to keep its services running as much as possible. It told us that its business continuity plan would put in place the most important steps first—getting …
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation and describes the department's plan to address the 36 most critical legacy systems, which account for around 65% of the caseload, within the coming Spending Review.
27
Conclusion
Acknowledged
The Department told us that, if implemented successfully, its plans to upgrade its legacy IT could transform its customer service and productivity, enabling it to provide services where customers could do more for themselves where they are able to, and to take away some of the more administrative tasks that …
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation and states that the Service Modernisation Programme is delivering as intended. They outline several achievements and future improvements to the Customer Account.