Jobcentres: Staffing Levels

Baroness Winterton of Doncaster Excerpts

Thursday 23rd October 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Sherlock (Lab)]

My Lords, I may be an optimist but I am also very positive. I believe in our staff, and I understand that there are times when this can be a really stressful job: there is no question about that. But we have been looking really carefully to make sure that we can predict demand levels and manage our staffing levels accordingly.

One of the challenges is that we are asking people to do a different job from what they did in the past. I had a really interesting conversation recently with one of our senior people who has worked on the front line about who she recruits to be a work coach, because you have to find people who have the appropriate levels of empathy and can motivate people, but who are also able to have a tough conversation when you need that. One of the things I asked was, “Where do people recruit from?” She said that they come from really different backgrounds. They are teachers, people from retail, people from call centres, the emergency services and from some legal offices. We are looking for skill sets and characteristics that can enable people to do a really tough job. We are also investing in our people, creating a work coach academy to upskill them and give them the tools they need to do the job, and we are investing in AI so that they have the information they need to help the customers. We can do this, and we are going to.

[Baroness Winterton of Doncaster (Lab)]

My Lords, when my noble friend the Minister refers to people with medical conditions that may be preventing them getting back into work, will she look at whether there are in fact enough health advisers in jobcentres who could help by referring them quickly? I know that there are some pilots on mental health advisers, but can she look at whether this could perhaps be extended through the trailblazers?

[Baroness Sherlock (Lab)]

My Lords, that is really interesting. I know that we do have advisers working out of GP centres, for example in Darwen, in Lancashire, and in Braehead, where we are placing people so that, when GPs encounter people with certain kinds of difficulties, we can provide employment support right then, so that people do not then get out of the labour market and end up being out for some time. We also have projects working closely with the NHS for people who are in work but at risk of falling out of work. If we can support them to stay in their jobs, it is much easier and better for the employer than having them falling out. I do not know whether we have GPs or healthcare workers working in our jobcentres, but what an interesting idea—I will go off and ask that very question.