To ask His Majesty's Government how many work coaches are currently employed in Jobcentre Plus offices across Great Britain.

To ask His Majesty's Government how many work coaches are currently employed in Jobcentre Plus offices across Great Britain.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what minimum English language proficiency requirements apply to Jobcentre Plus work coaches and other frontline staff; and whether his Department has conducted any audits or assessments in the last five years of the ability of non‑native English‑speaking staff in those...

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what minimum English language proficiency requirements apply to Jobcentre Plus work coaches and other frontline staff; and whether his Department has conducted any audits or assessments in the last five years of the ability of non‑native English‑speaking staff in those...

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Written Statement of 8 December 2025 on Support for Young People, HCWS1137, what assessment he has made of the readiness of Jobcentre Plus districts across the West Midlands, including Walsall and the Birmingham & Solihull pilot...

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Written Statement of 8 December 2025 on Support for Young People, HCWS1137, what assessment he has made of the readiness of Jobcentre Plus districts across the West Midlands, including Walsall and the Birmingham & Solihull pilot...

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many complex case coaches (a) are currently employed and (b) have been for each month since June 2024.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many complex case coaches (a) are currently employed and (b) have been for each month since June 2024.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many assaults on staff working in Job Centres were reported for each region for each year from 2015 to date.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many assaults on staff working in Job Centres were reported for each region for each year from 2015 to date.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment the Department has made of the adequacy of Jobcentre staffing levels to support claimants with complex needs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment the Department has made of the adequacy of Jobcentre staffing levels to support claimants with complex needs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) work coaches and (b) vacancies there were at Jobcentres in each month since July 2024.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) work coaches and (b) vacancies there were at Jobcentres in each month since July 2024.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance he provides on whether JobCentre Work Coaches can accept (a) discounts and (b) similar benefits from clients.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance he provides on whether JobCentre Work Coaches can accept (a) discounts and (b) similar benefits from clients.

To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the staffing levels within Job Centres.

To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the staffing levels within Job Centres.

My Lords, DWP monitors demand for jobcentre support on an ongoing basis and has well-established workforce planning systems to make sure that we have the right people in the right place at the right time. These systems help us to prioritise jobcentre activities where needed, protecting our most effective interventions and making sure that we maintain a constant focus on getting people into work, while remaining within funding limits and providing value for money.

My Lords, DWP monitors demand for jobcentre support on an ongoing basis and has well-established workforce planning systems to make sure that we have the right people in the right place at the right time. These systems help us to prioritise jobcentre activities where needed, protecting our most effective interventions and making sure that we maintain a constant focus on getting people into work, while remaining within funding limits and providing value for money.

I thank the Minister for her response. A recent BBC article suggested that capacity has been created in jobcentres only by reducing the number and length of appointments. One work coach they spoke to said that having only 10 minutes with clients means

“you’re just being a benefits policeman”,

and some work coaches feel that they are not able to provide the necessary support, in particular to help disabled people into work. Are the Government confident of being able to improve the employment rate for people with disabilities?

I thank the Minister for her response. A recent BBC article suggested that capacity has been created in jobcentres only by reducing the number and length of appointments. One work coach they spoke to said that having only 10 minutes with clients means

“you’re just being a benefits policeman”,

and some work coaches feel that they are not able to provide the necessary support, in particular to help disabled people into work. Are the Government confident of being able to improve the employment rate for people with disabilities?

My Lords, our jobcentres provide a professional, targeted service. DWP recently conducted a thorough review of jobcentre activity, to look at ways in which we can respond to demand without having a negative impact on outcomes for claimants, or indeed on benefit expenditure or fraud and error. After the review, the department introduced a series of operational changes, the aim of which was to maintain consistency in jobcentres across the country.

However, consistency is not the same as uniformity. It cannot be sensible to have the same regime for a 20 year-old who has not worked ever since leaving school, a 40 year-old who is recovering from a serious illness, and a 60 year-old who is working in a job but not earning quite enough to escape from the demands of the jobcentre. So we are exploring ways to adapt the length, frequency and channels for appointments so they are better tailored to the needs of the individual.

That way, we will be able to protect the interventions that are most effective but also try to make sure that we direct the resources where they are most needed. We now have additional work coaches working specifically on our programmes to support people with health conditions and disabilities, and we have committed to spending £1 billion by the end of the decade, investing in those very customers.

My Lords, our jobcentres provide a professional, targeted service. DWP recently conducted a thorough review of jobcentre activity, to look at ways in which we can respond to demand without having a negative impact on outcomes for claimants, or indeed on benefit expenditure or fraud and error. After the review, the department introduced a series of operational changes, the aim of which was to maintain consistency in jobcentres across the country.

However, consistency is not the same as uniformity. It cannot be sensible to have the same regime for a 20 year-old who has not worked ever since leaving school, a 40 year-old who is recovering from a serious illness, and a 60 year-old who is working in a job but not earning quite enough to escape from the demands of the jobcentre. So we are exploring ways to adapt the length, frequency and channels for appointments so they are better tailored to the needs of the individual.

That way, we will be able to protect the interventions that are most effective but also try to make sure that we direct the resources where they are most needed. We now have additional work coaches working specifically on our programmes to support people with health conditions and disabilities, and we have committed to spending £1 billion by the end of the decade, investing in those very customers.

My Lords, during my time as an MP, I made a point of trying to visit local jobcentres every year on a very regular basis. One of my consistent observations was that, all too often, local offices were never properly involved in designing services to address local priorities. So, is it not time we got away from this one-size-fits-all, Whitehall-led mentality?

My Lords, during my time as an MP, I made a point of trying to visit local jobcentres every year on a very regular basis. One of my consistent observations was that, all too often, local offices were never properly involved in designing services to address local priorities. So, is it not time we got away from this one-size-fits-all, Whitehall-led mentality?

My Lords, I suspect that the noble Lord has been reading our Get Britain Working plan—that is the only explanation for that comment. That is exactly what we want to do, and he is so right on this. We have been saying from the beginning that one size does not fit all, and that in employment interventions we are looking to work closely with local leaders, so we are running a series of trailblazers around the country, working with local mayoral authorities and local government.

Every labour market is different. The noble Lord is quite right that we do not have a single labour market in Britain; we have a series of different labour markets, with different challenges, populations and employment patterns, and our job is to make sure that we respond to those needs. For example, we have eight youth trailblazers running around the country, from Teesside to the south-west, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, the East and West Midlands and London, to look at what works. We will learn from that and will then help people to make the right decisions for their people.

My Lords, I suspect that the noble Lord has been reading our Get Britain Working plan—that is the only explanation for that comment. That is exactly what we want to do, and he is so right on this. We have been saying from the beginning that one size does not fit all, and that in employment interventions we are looking to work closely with local leaders, so we are running a series of trailblazers around the country, working with local mayoral authorities and local government.

Every labour market is different. The noble Lord is quite right that we do not have a single labour market in Britain; we have a series of different labour markets, with different challenges, populations and employment patterns, and our job is to make sure that we respond to those needs. For example, we have eight youth trailblazers running around the country, from Teesside to the south-west, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, the East and West Midlands and London, to look at what works. We will learn from that and will then help people to make the right decisions for their people.

My Lords, that sounds a very optimistic viewpoint from the Minister. However, the reports are that staff stress levels are at historic heights, and many are leaving for better pay and less stress. Aligned to that, staff shortages also mean less support for vulnerable clients. Can the Minister give a more optimistic view than is being reported?

My Lords, that sounds a very optimistic viewpoint from the Minister. However, the reports are that staff stress levels are at historic heights, and many are leaving for better pay and less stress. Aligned to that, staff shortages also mean less support for vulnerable clients. Can the Minister give a more optimistic view than is being reported?

My Lords, I may be an optimist but I am also very positive. I believe in our staff, and I understand that there are times when this can be a really stressful job: there is no question about that. But we have been looking really carefully to make sure that we can predict demand levels and manage our staffing levels accordingly.

One of the challenges is that we are asking people to do a different job from what they did in the past. I had a really interesting conversation recently with one of our senior people who has worked on the front line about who she recruits to be a work coach, because you have to find people who have the appropriate levels of empathy and can motivate people, but who are also able to have a tough conversation when you need that. One of the things I asked was, “Where do people recruit from?” She said that they come from

really different backgrounds. They are teachers, people from retail, people from call centres, the emergency services and from some legal offices. We are looking for skill sets and characteristics that can enable people to do a really tough job. We are also investing in our people, creating a work coach academy to upskill them and give them the tools they need to do the job, and we are investing in AI so that they have the information they need to help the customers. We can do this, and we are going to.

My Lords, I may be an optimist but I am also very positive. I believe in our staff, and I understand that there are times when this can be a really stressful job: there is no question about that. But we have been looking really carefully to make sure that we can predict demand levels and manage our staffing levels accordingly.

One of the challenges is that we are asking people to do a different job from what they did in the past. I had a really interesting conversation recently with one of our senior people who has worked on the front line about who she recruits to be a work coach, because you have to find people who have the appropriate levels of empathy and can motivate people, but who are also able to have a tough conversation when you need that. One of the things I asked was, “Where do people recruit from?” She said that they come from

really different backgrounds. They are teachers, people from retail, people from call centres, the emergency services and from some legal offices. We are looking for skill sets and characteristics that can enable people to do a really tough job. We are also investing in our people, creating a work coach academy to upskill them and give them the tools they need to do the job, and we are investing in AI so that they have the information they need to help the customers. We can do this, and we are going to.

My Lords, when my noble friend the Minister refers to people with medical conditions that may be preventing them getting back into work, will she look at whether there are in fact enough health advisers in jobcentres who could help by referring them quickly? I know that there are some pilots on mental health advisers, but can she look at whether this could perhaps be extended through the trailblazers?

My Lords, when my noble friend the Minister refers to people with medical conditions that may be preventing them getting back into work, will she look at whether there are in fact enough health advisers in jobcentres who could help by referring them quickly? I know that there are some pilots on mental health advisers, but can she look at whether this could perhaps be extended through the trailblazers?

My Lords, that is really interesting. I know that we do have advisers working out of GP centres, for example in Darwen, in Lancashire, and in Braehead, where we are placing people so that, when GPs encounter people with certain kinds of difficulties, we can provide employment support right then, so that people do not then get out of the labour market and end up being out for some time. We also have projects working closely with the NHS for people who are in work but at risk of falling out of work. If we can support them to stay in their jobs, it is much easier and better for the employer than having them falling out. I do not know whether we have GPs or healthcare workers working in our jobcentres, but what an interesting idea—I will go off and ask that very question.

My Lords, that is really interesting. I know that we do have advisers working out of GP centres, for example in Darwen, in Lancashire, and in Braehead, where we are placing people so that, when GPs encounter people with certain kinds of difficulties, we can provide employment support right then, so that people do not then get out of the labour market and end up being out for some time. We also have projects working closely with the NHS for people who are in work but at risk of falling out of work. If we can support them to stay in their jobs, it is much easier and better for the employer than having them falling out. I do not know whether we have GPs or healthcare workers working in our jobcentres, but what an interesting idea—I will go off and ask that very question.

My Lords, I declare my interest as the chairman of the charity that runs the libraries and museums in Perth and Kinross. In Perth and Kinross, there is a feeling that libraries have a part to play here, and that is because sometimes a certain amount of stigma is attached to going into a jobcentre for people who are thinking of needing careers advice or job progress. There is no stigma associated with going to a library, and the libraries in Perth and Kinross have been able to provide all sorts of support. Would the Minister like to comment on that?

My Lords, I declare my interest as the chairman of the charity that runs the libraries and museums in Perth and Kinross. In Perth and Kinross, there is a feeling that libraries have a part to play here, and that is because sometimes a certain amount of stigma is attached to going into a jobcentre for people who are thinking of needing careers advice or job progress. There is no stigma associated with going to a library, and the libraries in Perth and Kinross have been able to provide all sorts of support. Would the Minister like to comment on that?