Asked by: Lord McCabe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what metrics his Department uses to measure the impact of armed forces champions in Jobcentres.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
As part of the Armed Forces Covenant the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has initiatives which help current and former Armed Forces personnel and their families. This includes the role of the Armed Forces Champion in every Jobcentre Plus District, who provide specialist support to members of the Armed Forces community and build Work Coach capability in our Jobcentres. Armed Forces Champions develop and maintain joint working relationships, provide specialist support to all Jobcentre staff and act as the first point of contact in communities for organisations and services.
Although there is no specific metrics used, the Department regularly evaluates the role to ensure we deliver the best service possible and we have had, and continue to receive, positive feedback from customers and external stakeholders regarding their experience of working with Armed Forces Champions.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many jobcentre clients have been assisted by an Armed Forces Champion in South Holland and the Deepings constituency in the last five years.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
Since January 2023, 15 members of the local Armed Forces community have been supported in the South Holland and Deepings area.
The Armed Forces Champions have specific responsibilities for supporting members of the Armed Forces community, including building staff capability within their districts, personally handling some claims, supporting veterans into work and helping resolve complex cases where necessary.
Every Work Coach is trained on how to provide tailored and personalised support to members of the Armed Forces community and their families, working in partnership with their Armed Forces Champions. In those areas where there are particularly high levels of demand, for example garrison towns, this will form a significant part of the work done in individual Jobcentres.
Please note that the data supplied is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal departmental use only, and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard.
Asked by: Lord McCabe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many jobcentre clients have been assisted by an Armed Forces Champion in Birmingham, Selly Oak constituency in the last 12 months.
Answered by Jo Churchill
Since July 2023, 47 members of the local Armed Forces community have been supported in the Selly Oak constituency.
The Armed Forces Champions have specific responsibilities for supporting members of the Armed Forces community, including building staff capability within their districts, personally handling some claims, supporting veterans into work and helping resolve complex cases where necessary.
Every Work Coach is trained on how to provide tailored and personalised support to members of the Armed Forces community and their families, working in partnership with their Armed Forces Champions. In those areas where there are particularly high levels of demand, for example garrison towns, this will form a significant part of the work done in individual Jobcentres.
Please note that the data supplied is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal departmental use only, and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what data his Department holds on the number of job centre clients that have been assisted by an armed forces champion in the Gower constituency in the last 12 months.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
Since July 2023, 30 members of the local Armed Forces community have been supported in the Gower constituency.
The Armed Forces Champions have specific responsibilities for supporting members of the Armed Forces community, including building staff capability within their districts, personally handling some claims, supporting veterans into work and helping resolve complex cases where necessary.
Every Work Coach is trained on how to provide tailored and personalised support to members of the Armed Forces community and their families, working in partnership with their Armed Forces Champions. In those areas where there are particularly high levels of demand, for example garrison towns, this will form a significant part of the work done in individual Jobcentres.
Please note that the data supplied is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal departmental use only, and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for appointing specialist single parent work coaches within Jobcentre Plus to ensure that single parents can access tailored and relevant advice on childcare, benefits and appropriate flexible job opportunities that are available in the local area.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
The department keeps the Work Coach role under regular review, to ensure they are well equipped to support a range of claimants, including single parents.
All Work Coaches undergo a learning journey that equips them with the tools, knowledge, skills, and behaviours to enable them to support individuals moving closer to work. This includes childcare modules to support working single parents.
All claimants are set requirements that take into account their circumstances and capability, including caring responsibilities, health conditions and disabilities. These requirements will be tailored by the Work Coach and will be achievable and realistic, and agreed within the Claimant Commitment.
Work Coaches are also signposted to tools, guidance, and websites (internal and external), so that they have access to the most up to date advice and expertise to help them better support claimants, including single parents.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many jobcentre clients have been assisted by an Armed Forces Champion in Solihull constituency in the last year.
Answered by Jo Churchill
Since January 2023, 12 members of the local Armed Forces community have been supported in Solihull constituency.
The Armed Forces Champions have specific responsibilities for supporting members of the Armed Forces community and their role involves front line responsibilities including building staff capability within their districts, personally handling some claims, supporting veterans into work and helping resolve complex cases where necessary.
Every Work coach is trained on how to provide tailored and personalised support to members of the Armed Forces community and their families, working in partnership with their Armed Forces Champions. In those areas where there are particularly high levels of demand, for example garrison towns, this will form a significant part of the work done in individual Jobcentres.
Please note that the data supplied is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal departmental use only, and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what data his Department holds on the office occupancy rates for job centers.
Answered by Jo Churchill
The department holds data on staff and capacity within our jobcentres across a range of different analysis approaches, including floorspace, desks and workstations.
The data we hold is continually reviewed and analysed to inform decisions on recruitment planning, capacity management and long-term value for money assessments.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average caseload of a Jobcentre Universal Credit case manager was in the most recent period for which data is available.
Answered by Jo Churchill
There is no set minimum/maximum or optimum caseload size. The net claims per Case Manager is circa 1,500, this excludes: Claims with no Identity Verification – older than 30 days; Suspended claims; Claims with open ‘additional action close claims’ to-do; Claims with consecutive nil payments; Claims with a Case Manager not based in a Service Centre; Claims without a Case Manager.
The size of a Work Coach caseload will vary as it is dependent on several factors, including the level of customer support required, the needs of the local labour market and the experience and working pattern of each Work Coach. For November, our case loads of Intensive Work Search customers averaged 113 cases per Universal Credit Work Coach.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average caseload of a Jobcentre work coach was in the most recent period for which data is available.
Answered by Jo Churchill
There is no set minimum/maximum or optimum caseload size. The net claims per Case Manager is circa 1,500, this excludes: Claims with no Identity Verification – older than 30 days; Suspended claims; Claims with open ‘additional action close claims’ to-do; Claims with consecutive nil payments; Claims with a Case Manager not based in a Service Centre; Claims without a Case Manager.
The size of a Work Coach caseload will vary as it is dependent on several factors, including the level of customer support required, the needs of the local labour market and the experience and working pattern of each Work Coach. For November, our case loads of Intensive Work Search customers averaged 113 cases per Universal Credit Work Coach.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure the wellbeing of Jobcentre staff.
Answered by Paul Maynard
DWP continues to review and refine its wellbeing offer to ensure it remains up-to-date, relevant, and accessible to all. We have a DWP Colleague ‘My Wellbeing button’. The button enables quick, easy access to our DWP Wellbeing support offer from everyone’s desktop and takes colleagues to a newly designed wellbeing triage page where colleagues can quickly access the right information and support based on their needs. For example, ‘I need support today’ through to ‘I am looking for guidance as a line manager’. The purpose of this button is to raise the visibility of our wellbeing offer and provide a quick and streamlined journey to the service required, strengthening our culture of putting colleague wellbeing at the heart of everything we do.
Within the Wellbeing button, the below support can be found:
‣ Employee Assistance Provision which includes:
‣ Flu vaccinations: Information for all DWP colleagues who are not able to access, or are not eligible for, the NHS flu vaccine can claim a refund if they choose to have a flu vaccination in 2023/24.
‣ Details of key wellbeing dates across the year which includes events/webinars to promote the day along with helpful tips for staff.
‣ A network of over 1,000 wellbeing advocates. Colleagues who have been given permission to give 5% of their time to support employee wellbeing. Colleagues can call them to discuss the wellbeing support offer and they actively promote the offer through giving presentations locally. We also have a Buddy Network who are volunteers that colleagues can call if they ever feel lonely and simply want a chat and have a wellbeing check-in.
‣ Mental Health First Aiders (MHFA) who are specially trained colleagues who offer immediate support to others experiencing mental ill health or emotional distress. They also look out for early signs of developing issues and promote mental health awareness across the Department.
‣ Community Networks, these range from networks offering support with the Menopause, Cancer, alcohol, religion and more. They offer peer to peer support and regularly run events.
‣ Eye test – colleagues can access a free eye test once every two years or more frequently if advised by an optician or medical advisor, or if they are having visual problems whilst working at a workstation.
‣ Sanitary provision - DWP provide free sanitary products across the DWP Estate for anyone with an immediate need, to support colleague health and wellbeing.
‣ Charity for Civil Servants who offer Independent, impartial financial and emotional support to all Civil Servants. Assistance includes help for carers, financial support and advice, wellbeing support, mindfulness, anxiety support, nutrition, sleep, menopause, bereavement and Podcasts and Webinars
‣ Wellbeing and Resilience Toolbox which can be accessed by Line managers to lead their own team training on resilience, slide packs and facilitator packs are available to talk their team through sessions.
‣ 5 step Wellbeing Conversation Tools - a tool to help colleagues discuss how they are feeling, identify early warning signs of emotional distress, and explore a way forward.
‣ Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) – This document is to aid employee and line manager discussions (related to mental health/wellbeing). The WRAP is designed to help employees to reflect on the causes and symptoms of their own workplace mental health and wellbeing challenges, and to take practical steps to manage these.
‣ Stress evaluation tool – this tool is designed to assist staff to concentrate on pro-active and preventative measures to good stress management.
Annually we update the DWP voluntary reporting on disability, mental health and wellbeing - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) voluntary report on Gov UK.