Zarah ChoudharyAn inquiry into Jobcentre reform has been launched by the cross-party Work and Pensions Committee (WPC) to refocus on personalised employment support and skills development, moving away from a standardised, box-ticking approach.
The inquiry is the first in a series scrutinising proposals in the Government’s ‘Get Britain Working’ white-paper, published on 26th November 2024.
The white-paper outlined reforms designed to help the Government achieve its target of an 80% employment rate.
Key proposals included reforming Jobcentres and merging the National Career Service with Jobcentre Plus, commonly referred to as Jobcentres.
The inquiry will assess the role of Jobcentres, customers’ experiences, and how they can collaborate more effectively with external organisations and careers advisers to help people into work.
According to the white-paper, Jobcentres have become too centralised and impersonal, with an excessive focus on administrative tasks related to benefit claims.
The proposed reforms aim to shift the focus towards skills, careers, and personalised employment support.
There are more than 600 Jobcentres across the UK, with a significant concentration in central Scotland, South Wales, the North East of England, Birmingham, and London.
These areas, which see higher numbers of Jobcentre customers, are likely to feel the greatest impact from the proposed changes.
The Government is expected to publish further details on these reforms later this year.
Debbie Abrahams, chair of the committee, said: “We know that good work has many benefits to individuals and their families, but also to the local economy and for wider economic growth.
“In contrast, 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.
“The Committee wants to examine the future role Jobcentres can play in for example, supporting training, skills development, and career planning, in the context of their current priority of overseeing benefits.
“With the employment rate at 74.8%, and economic inactivity at 21.6% 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.
“The Government plans reforms to refocus the Jobcentre by folding in the work of the careers service.
“But due to the way the Jobcentre touches peoples’ lives, being both an access point for benefits and employment opportunities, getting this formula for reform right, if it needs it, is essential.”
“But what should these reforms look like?
“And what would be the fairest and most effective changes that would help deliver a boost in employment, and peoples’ prospects.
“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.
“The workstream that this is part of will advise the Government on best practice that can garner broad cross-party political consensus to ensure their long-term stability.”
