DWP scrutiny: Work coaches, customer service, use of AI and more on the agenda for PAC follow-up session
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) will hold a scrutiny session with the Department for Work and Pensions(DWP) at 10am on Thursday 30 October.
Meeting details
One likely topic of questions is the decision to make permanent measures which reduce the support provided by jobcentres to Universal Credit claimants. The PAC’s report on Jobcentres highlighted the DWP’s seeming complacency about the impact that the reduction may be having on claimants. The session will likely see the DWP challenged on the evidence it has on the impact of reducing the length of the first meeting a claimant has with a work coach from 50 to 30 minutes, with members liable to seek greater transparency on jobcentre performance.
The session will also be informed by the Committee’s DWP Customer Service and Accounts 2023-24 report and the government’s response. This report found that disability benefits claimants at increased risk of hardship amid a rise in DWP underpayments. Some parts of DWP’s customer service are getting worse. Overall the proportion of new claims paid on time by DWP fell from 72.2% in 2023-24 to 69.7% in 2024-25.
Other likely topics for discussion will see officials’ position sought on digital issues, such as how the Department is keeping pace with the rapidly evolving cyber threat, and how it is using AI to increase its productivity.