Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many temporary, fixed term contract work coaches were hired during the covid-19 outbreak; and how many of those were subsequently made permanent.

From March 2020 and the start of the Covid 19 pandemic, the Department delivered on our commitment under the Government’s Plan for Jobs to recruit an additional 13,500 EO Work Coaches. This recruitment was a blend of both permanent and fixed term appointments.

As at March 2022, we had 12,000 fixed term EOs across DWP Service Delivery which included 9,950 in Jobcentres. To date, we have made permanence offers to c8,800 DWP EO fixed-term colleagues, which includes 6,400 into Work Coach roles. As we are continuing to consider where we may be able to make any further permanence offers, where further opportunities become available, we are currently unable to give a final number.