The Government has reduced the level of support it offers to universal credit (UC) claimants due to a shortage of work coaches at jobcentres, according to the National Audit Office (NAO).
The report found on average there were 2,100 fewer work coaches employed by the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) than it estimated is needed in the first six months of 2024-25.
It also found that 57% of jobcentres reduced their support for claimants between September 2023 and November 2024 because work coach caseloads were too high.
Gareth Davies, head of the NAO, commented: ‘As it takes forward the Government’s plans for reforming employment support, DWP should pay close attention to how it can make best use of its work coaches and ensure that people get the support they need.’
A DWP spokesperson said: 'Our Jobcentres are full of brilliant work coaches – but they are held back by a system that is too focused on ticking-boxes and monitoring benefits instead of genuinely supporting people back into work.
'That is why we are redeploying 1,000 work coaches to help deliver intensive employment support to sick and disabled people, modernising Jobcentres with new digital tools, and improving access to free up work coaches’ time as we bring the network together with the National Careers Service.'
