The DWP has been quizzed about figures revealing the department forked out payments to big name retailers, including £527 to Argos and payments of £699 and £599 to Currys.
The figures relate to the DWP and its Child Maintenance Group, as the Government website states the DWP has to publish details of all spending above £500 on a monthly basis purchased “using an electronic purchasing card solution (ePCS)”.
Conservative MP Richard Holden asked in Parliament about the reason for several of the payments from July 20 to August 19. These included £555.75 to menswear shop Moss Bros, £970.91 at Fitness Superstore and “multiple amounts” to train ticket seller Trainline, which totalled over £4,500.
Labour work and pensions minister, Andrew Western, said the payments were all intended to help “remove barriers” so benefit claimants out of work could find and secure a job.
He said the cash amounts were to help individuals “moving closer” to the job market, as well as to assist in a person’s search for work, to accept a job offer or go self-employed, or to increase their earnings by working more hours or getting a new job.
Explaining what specific items the payments were for, he said they could cover “smart clothing for interviews or to start work, essential work wear (excluding safety wear as it is the employer’s duty to provide this), essential tools and equipment for specialist roles/sectors (ie chef’s knives).”
The minister also said the payments can go towards travel costs “where the inability to afford travel is preventing access to an employment opportunity”.
He added that Trainline is often the “most price effective” means of travel and these payments can be made in advance if it will help a claimant get to work.
Mr Western explained: “This includes customers taking on additional job(s) or additional hours in current job(s).
“Most of these transactions were for a monthly pass to allow someone to start employment within London. After the first monthly wage, they would then be able to sustain their own travel costs.”
Express.co.uk has contacted the DWP for comment about the payments.
The Government has this week published its Get Britain Working white paper, with plans for more support to help people on benefits such as Universal Credit who are out of work to find a job.
This includes upgrading Jobcentre Plus to offer more personalised support to help people look for work and learn new skills, which will be “underpinned by a clear expectation that jobseekers do all they can to look for work”.
The DWP will also build stronger relationships with employers to “better meet their recruitment needs and help to reduce reliance on foreign workers”.
Figures in the White Paper also drew attention to the regional disparities when it comes to how many young people are out of work and not in education or training.
The highest rates are in the North East and the North West, with 15.4 percent and 15 percent unemployed respectively.
Looking at benefits broken down by local authority, the highest proportion of people aged 18 to 21 on Universal Credit is in Blackpool, at 26.8 percent, followed by Hartlepool, at 26 percent. In stark contrast, the city of Oxford has one of the lowest, at 2.4 percent.
The white paper stated: “Regional variation means that there is no ‘one-size fits all’ approach to supporting young people, and we need to consider a more tailored strategy that considers where young people live across the country, to complement any national support offers.”
