Public Accounts Committee 5th Report of this Session examines the response to change in jobcentres
This report examines the current performance of Jobcentres and suggests that their approach will need to change with the introduction of Universal Credit.
The report finds that Jobcentres coped well with higher claimant numbers and increased demand for their services during the economic downturn. They managed this by prioritising checks over benefits eligibility payments processing and adjusted other services such as the proportion of work-focused interviews and the issuing of sanctions.
This flexible approach is welcomed but the Department lacks the information it needs to challenge performance effectively, learn what works in what circumstances, and so improve value for money. For example, there is a wide variation in the way jobcentres' district managers choose to deploy personal advisers and assistant advisers and the extent to which administrative tasks are split, but there has been little evaluation to understand what models are working best and why.
Local flexibility may mean jobcentres to 'park' harder to help claimants such as those with disabilities. The Department's own evaluation of jobcentre services found that Employment and Support Allowance claimants were getting a worse service than those on Jobseeker's Allowance.
Jobcentre performance is measured by the number of people that stop claiming benefits, not how many people each jobcentre has helped into work. The Department does know that around 40% of individuals claim benefits again within six months and around 60% claim again within two years.
Jobcentres will need to adapt their services to cater for new claimant groups as a consequence of the introduction of Universal Credit and in response to people increasingly managing their benefit claims and job searches online. DWP has a responsibility to ensure that more vulnerable individuals are able to claim the benefits to which they are entitled. It is not acceptable to depend solely on libraries and Citizens Advice when local advice services are already stretched.
To view the report go to the Parliament website.