MPs are to investigate massive Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) reforms planned for Jobcentres designed to use AI, health experts, new training schemes and coaches to get people into work.
The Commons Work and Pensions Committee will examine proposals to get people off benefits and into a job in a move designed to curb the rising benefits bill.
The inquiry will be the first in a series scrutinising plans to help achieve the Government’s target of increasing the employment rate from 74.8 percent to 80 percent.
Key proposals include merging the National Career Service with Jobcentre Plus and reforming how Jobcentres operate across the country.
MPs will examine the current role of Jobcentres and customer experiences with the DWP, while exploring how they can better collaborate with external organisations and careers advisers to support people into employment.
According to a government white paper outlining the changes, the nation’s 600 Jobcentres have become “too focused on box ticking” around benefit claims, with services that are overly centralised, standardised and impersonal.
The Government aims to shift focus away from benefit administration towards providing more personalised employment support.
Ministers see them working more like private sector recruitment consultants, suitable for job hunters looking to climb the career ladder rather than just a resource for the unemployed.
A key objective is to transform Jobcentres into places that prioritise skills development and career advancement.
Committee Chair Debbie Abrahams shared: “We know that good work has many benefits to individuals and their families, but also to the local economy and for wider economic growth.”
The MP warned of the consequences of worklessness, noting that “for someone of working age not in work, whether that’s through unemployment or economic inactivity, there are long-term negative impacts on health and wellbeing”.
Current statistics show significant challenges, with the employment rate at 74.8 per cent and economic inactivity at 21.6 per cent.
The Committee chair emphasised the urgent need to address skills development, saying: “There is no hiding from the challenge of ensuring people have the skills they need to access and progress in work, including the jobs of the future.
“Due to the way the Jobcentre touches people’s lives, being both an access point for benefits and employment opportunities, getting this formula for reform right, if it needs it, is essential.”
The Committee has launched a call for evidence. The MP said: “We want to hear broadly about the Jobcentre experience from customers, and from experts and careers advisors to help inform the debate on what precisely these reforms should look like.”
