Department for Work and Pensions

Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates are annually reviewed, usually in the Autumn. At Autumn budget 2025, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions reviewed LHA and announced that rates would be maintained at their current levels for 2026/27. Rent levels across Great Britian were considered alongside other factors such as the challenging fiscal context and welfare priorities, including the removal of the two-child limit which will bring 450,000 children out of poverty.

Renters facing a shortfall in meeting their housing costs can apply for Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) from local authorities. From April 2026 DHPs for England will be incorporated into the Crisis and Resilience Fund.

Pension schemes are under legal obligations to provide key information to members. Schemes should ensure that all communications are accurate, clear, concise, relevant and in plain English.

Simpler Annual Benefit Statements, introduced in 2022, make defined contribution automatic‑enrolment pension statements shorter and more consistent, helping members see what they’ve saved; what they might have at retirement; and what actions they can take.

When launched, pensions dashboards will allow people to view their pensions, including State Pension, securely and in one place online. Dashboards will include clear contextual information alongside the values shown, supported by user testing, to ensure the information is easy to understand.

Decision making about how to use pension assets to secure an income can be complex. The Guided Retirement provisions in the Pension Schemes Bill require trustees to provide information in plain and simple language to support informed member decision making. The Government intends to consult on the Guided Retirement communications journey, ensuring that communications are structured, accessible, and delivered at the right points to help savers understand both the default pension plan and the options available to them.

The Government ensures everyone has access to free, impartial pensions guidance through the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS).

UK State Pensions are payable worldwide, without regard to nationality, and are only uprated abroad where there is a legal requirement to do so, for example in countries with which we have a reciprocal agreement that provides for uprating.

The policy on uprating UK State Pension paid overseas is a longstanding one and has been in place for over 70 years. Over many years, priority has been given to those living in the United Kingdom when drawing up expenditure plans for additional pensioner benefits.

The government is investing over £1.5 billion in tackling youth unemployment and inactivity, including £820 million for the expanded Youth Guarantee and £725 million for the Growth and Skills Levy. This will provide young people aged 16–24 with greater support into work and learning, including a Jobs Guarantee offering fully subsidised paid work for every 18–21-year-old on Universal Credit for 18 months.

In line with the Government’s December 2025 announcement, the Jobs Guarantee will begin its rollout from Spring 2026 in 6 areas which have some of the highest need, including Birmingham and Solihull.

The first 6 months of the Jobs Guarantee scheme will provide over 1000 job starts across the 6 areas.

National roll-out of the Jobs Guarantee across Great Britain will take place later in 2026. The programme is expected to support around 55,000 young people over the next three years, contributing to this government’s long-term ambition to increase employment and reduce long-term youth unemployment.

This Government is taking action to ensure young people have clear pathways into work, with opportunities that build skills, confidence and long-term employability.

In addition, through the expanded Youth Guarantee, we are creating around 300,000 additional opportunities for young people to gain workplace experience and training.

This includes up to 150,000 extra work experience placements and up to 145,000 bespoke training opportunities designed with employers through our Sector based Work Academy Programmes, or SWAPs. These programmes provide young people with real, practical experience linked to vacancies in priority sectors, improving their prospects of moving quickly into work.

Data on fraud and error overpayments is published annually and can be found using the following link: Fraud and error in the benefit system - GOV.UK. 2024/25 estimates show that Carer's Allowance Overpayments relating to earnings/employment represented 1.3% of the £4.2bn expenditure on Carer’s Allowance.

A further breakdown as requested is not published as part of any official statistical release.

The Government inherited a system where some busy carers, already struggling under a huge weight of caring responsibilities, have found themselves with unexpected debts due to earnings-related overpayments of Carer’s Allowance which they were asked to pay back. This only affected some of the relatively small number of Carer’s Allowance claimants who also do paid work, but the impact on some of these unpaid carers has been significant.

The Government appointed Liz Sayce OBE to lead an Independent Review into the matter. The Review’s report, which we published on 25 November 2025, alongside the Government’s response, has been invaluable in assessing how these overpayments have arisen; what can be done to support unpaid carers who have incurred debts in the past; and how further overpayments can be minimised in future.

The Review has shown that mistakes were made, and we are determined to put them right. The Government has welcomed the report and is accepting or partially accepting 38 out of the 40 recommendations. In some cases, the changes the report is asking for have already been made. Others will take more time to put in place.

The department agrees the guidance on averaging earnings between 2015 and summer 2025 did not accurately reflect the statutory position with respect to those with fluctuating earnings. That is why we are putting steps in place to run a reassessment exercise. This exercise will begin later this year, and we will communicate details on how this will work in due course.

No formal assessment has been made, but work is ongoing to expand the benefit sanction statistics, detailed below, to allow analysis in the future.

The Department regularly publishes Universal Credit sanction rate statistics for Great Britain as part of the benefit sanction statistics. These include a breakdown of the sanction rate by ethnic group and an analysis of the sanction ethnicity statistics which can be found at section 5 of the latest publication.

The Department also published an ad-hoc analysis in February 2025 of the Variation in the Universal Credit sanction rate by jobcentres using the UC Sanction Rate dataset on Stat-Xplore.

The ‘Benefit sanction statistics to August 2025’ and the ‘Variation in the Universal Credit sanction rate by jobcentres from January 2017 to August 2024’ are provided in the attached PDF documents.

The volume of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) recipients in each specified year who made their first successful claim over the age of 60 is shown in the table below.

Table 1: Volume of claimants aged over 60 who made a successful PIP claim for the very first time by year

Notes:

- Values have been rounded to the nearest 10.

- Values are for claimants under DWP Policy Ownership only (England, Wales or Abroad).

- Data is provided in calendar years, starting on 1st January and ending on 31st December.

- Data only includes claimants aged 61 and above.

- Claimants included in the table are those receiving PIP for the very first time. Claimants who have received PIP in the past and have rejoined after turning 61 have not been included.

Information about hours worked by Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimants is not collected and held centrally by the Department.

There are strict rules that govern who can access benefits. Parents who are not British or Irish nationals can only access Universal Credit with a valid immigration status of a kind that gives them the right to access public funds. Most migrants with temporary visas cannot access the benefit system. Access to public funds and benefits is usually at the point of settlement, which for most people will be after they have lived in the UK legally for five years, and the Home Office Earned Settlement policy consultation is looking at increasing this to ten years. The Home Office is also consulting on changing the default position to maintain No Recourse to Public Funds at settlement and lifting this only at the point of British citizenship. This would mean that migrants would need to wait longer to access benefits.

DWP also plans to consult on changes to the benefit rules to prioritise access for those who are making an economic contribution to the UK. The consultation will look at how the benefit rules apply to everyone arriving or returning to the UK.

Based on the information held, since December 2024, the recorded legal costs on litigation brought by WASPI including disbursements and VAT are £149,409.74.

Where a complaint is raised by an MP, it is referred to the DWP Complaints Team who will investigate the complaint and aim to resolve it within 15 working days. If the matter is complex and will take longer than 15 days, the complaints resolution manager will keep the MP updated and tell them when they can expect a response. Upon completion of the investigation, a full written response will be issued to the MP via their designated Parliament.uk secure email address.

In terms of dealing with matters quickly, it may be possible with MP agreement to do a telephone resolution and this can be followed up with a written response if requested.

The total number of non-levy employers that received a transfer from a levy-paying employer in the 2023-24 financial year is 6,348. The proportion of non-levy employers that had an active apprenticeship service account that received a payment in the 2023-24 financial year, that received transfers was 5.9%.

This information is based on providers that received payments for non-levy employer learners for the 2023-24 financial year.

Non-levy paying employers are not required to register for an apprenticeship service account; the data we hold is therefore not a reflection of all non-levy paying employers in England. Additionally, not all non-levy paying employers that are registered for an apprenticeship service account will employ apprentices and receive payments for them each year.

The apprenticeship funding rules for the 2023/24 and 2024/25 academic years, which include information on employer co-investment, are published here Apprenticeship funding rules - GOV.UK.

Since April 2024, the government has fully funded apprenticeship training costs up to the funding band maximum for non-levy paying employers for apprentices aged 16-21 and apprentices aged 22-24 who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) or have been, or are, in local authority care. For all other apprentices, employers that do not pay the levy are required to co-invest 5% towards apprentice training costs, unless they are in receipt of a levy transfer which covers that cost.

From August 2026, the government will fully fund apprenticeship training for non-levy paying employers for all eligible people aged 16-24. For all other apprentices, employers that do not pay the levy will be required to co-invest 5% towards apprentice training costs, unless they are in receipt of a levy transfer which covers that cost.

The maximum that non-levy payers are required to co-invest in apprentices’ training costs is 5%.

The government pays £1,000 to both employers and providers for apprentices aged 16-18, and for apprentices aged 19-24 who have an EHCP or have been, or are, in local authority care. On top of this, employers will receive additional payments of up to £2,000 for eligible foundation apprenticeships. Additionally, employers are not required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance for all apprentices aged up to age 25 (when the employee’s wage is below £50,270 a year).

The apprenticeship funding rules for the 2023/24 and 2024/25 academic years, which include information on employer co-investment, are published here Apprenticeship funding rules - GOV.UK.

Since April 2024, the government has fully funded apprenticeship training costs up to the funding band maximum for non-levy paying employers for apprentices aged 16-21 and apprentices aged 22-24 who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) or have been, or are, in local authority care. For all other apprentices, employers that do not pay the levy are required to co-invest 5% towards apprentice training costs, unless they are in receipt of a levy transfer which covers that cost.

From August 2026, the government will fully fund apprenticeship training for non-levy paying employers for all eligible people aged 16-24. For all other apprentices, employers that do not pay the levy will be required to co-invest 5% towards apprentice training costs, unless they are in receipt of a levy transfer which covers that cost.

The maximum that non-levy payers are required to co-invest in apprentices’ training costs is 5%.

The government pays £1,000 to both employers and providers for apprentices aged 16-18, and for apprentices aged 19-24 who have an EHCP or have been, or are, in local authority care. On top of this, employers will receive additional payments of up to £2,000 for eligible foundation apprenticeships. Additionally, employers are not required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance for all apprentices aged up to age 25 (when the employee’s wage is below £50,270 a year).

Minimum wage rates are reviewed annually and the government considers the independent advice of the Low Pay Commission when setting minimum wage rates.

Past, present and future minimum wage rates are published here, National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates - GOV.UK.

Regarding apprenticeship training costs, each apprenticeship standard has a funding band which sets out the maximum amount that the government will contribute to the cost of apprenticeship training and assessment over the full duration of the apprenticeship. Apprenticeship funding bands range from £1,500 to £27,000.

The apprenticeship funding rules for the 2023/24, 2024/25 and 2025/26 academic years, which include information on employer co-investment, are published here Apprenticeship funding rules - GOV.UK.

From August 2026, the government will fully fund apprenticeship training for non-levy paying employers for all eligible people aged 16-24. For all other apprentices, employers that do not pay the levy will be required to co-invest 5% towards apprentice training costs, unless they are in receipt of a levy transfer which covers that cost.

The government pays £1,000 to both employers and providers for apprentices aged 16-18, and for apprentices aged 19-24 who have an EHCP or have been, or are, in local authority care. On top of this, employers will receive additional payments of up to £2,000 for eligible foundation apprenticeships. Additionally, employers are not required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance for all apprentices aged up to age 25 (when the employee’s wage is below £50,270 a year).

Minimum wage rates are reviewed annually and the government considers the independent advice of the Low Pay Commission when setting minimum wage rates.

Past, present and future minimum wage rates are published here, National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates - GOV.UK.

Regarding apprenticeship training costs, each apprenticeship standard has a funding band which sets out the maximum amount that the government will contribute to the cost of apprenticeship training and assessment over the full duration of the apprenticeship. Apprenticeship funding bands range from £1,500 to £27,000.

The apprenticeship funding rules for the 2023/24, 2024/25 and 2025/26 academic years, which include information on employer co-investment, are published here Apprenticeship funding rules - GOV.UK.

From August 2026, the government will fully fund apprenticeship training for non-levy paying employers for all eligible people aged 16-24. For all other apprentices, employers that do not pay the levy will be required to co-invest 5% towards apprentice training costs, unless they are in receipt of a levy transfer which covers that cost.

The government pays £1,000 to both employers and providers for apprentices aged 16-18, and for apprentices aged 19-24 who have an EHCP or have been, or are, in local authority care. On top of this, employers will receive additional payments of up to £2,000 for eligible foundation apprenticeships. Additionally, employers are not required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance for all apprentices aged up to age 25 (when the employee’s wage is below £50,270 a year).

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

The Pension Schemes Bill will enable more trustees of well-funded defined benefit pension schemes to share surplus with employers and deliver better outcomes for members. Trustees, working with the sponsoring employer, will be responsible for determining how members may benefit from any release of surplus.

The choice to release surplus is underpinned by strict safeguards, including the requirement for a prudent funding threshold, actuarial certification and member notification. Employers will not have direct access to surplus funds, with any surplus release having to be agreed by trustees.

The surplus release provisions, introduced by the Pension Schemes Bill, will rely on trustees exercising their powers appropriately and in accordance with their trust law duties. If trustees breach these requirements, the Pensions Regulator has powers to take action.

We will consult on the surplus release draft regulations once the Pension Schemes Bill has received Royal Assent. We look forward to receiving the responses on the proposals.

The Pension Schemes Bill will enable more trustees of well-funded defined benefit pension schemes to share surplus with employers and deliver better outcomes for members. Trustees, working with the sponsoring employer, will be responsible for determining how members may benefit from any release of surplus.

The choice to release surplus is underpinned by strict safeguards, including the requirement for a prudent funding threshold, actuarial certification and member notification. Employers will not have direct access to surplus funds, with any surplus release having to be agreed by trustees.

The surplus release provisions, introduced by the Pension Schemes Bill, will rely on trustees exercising their powers appropriately and in accordance with their trust law duties. If trustees breach these requirements, the Pensions Regulator has powers to take action.

We will consult on the surplus release draft regulations once the Pension Schemes Bill has received Royal Assent. We look forward to receiving the responses on the proposals.

The Pension Schemes Bill will enable more trustees of well-funded defined benefit pension schemes to share surplus with employers and deliver better outcomes for members. Trustees, working with the sponsoring employer, will be responsible for determining how members may benefit from any release of surplus.

The choice to release surplus is underpinned by strict safeguards, including the requirement for a prudent funding threshold, actuarial certification and member notification. Employers will not have direct access to surplus funds, with any surplus release having to be agreed by trustees.

The surplus release provisions, introduced by the Pension Schemes Bill, will rely on trustees exercising their powers appropriately and in accordance with their trust law duties. If trustees breach these requirements, the Pensions Regulator has powers to take action.

We will consult on the surplus release draft regulations once the Pension Schemes Bill has received Royal Assent. We look forward to receiving the responses on the proposals.

Jobcentre Plus (JCP) actively promotes vacancies, including roles with the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), by matching a claimant’s skills and circumstances to available roles.

The DWP’s Strategic Relationship Team is working with the DVSA to test a new recruitment approach for Driving Examiner roles in six priority locations. This work involves the introduction of a one day assessment centre under a Direct Temporary Recruitment (DTR) model to create a faster and more efficient process. Part of this process will include JCP Work Coaches identifying suitable candidates, arranging informal discussions and driving assessments.

Locations deemed as priority sites by DVSA are Bedford, Bletchley, Bromley, Slough, Southampton and Tottenham in North London. Across theses initial pilot sites there will be at least 30 vacancies and capacity for up to 96 referrals.

The pilot will help determine whether this streamlined route can support areas that have been hardest to recruit for and whether it should be expanded to additional locations in future.

No formal assessment has been made.

Connect to Work is our voluntary, locally led Supported Employment programme that will help around 300,000 disabled people, people with health conditions and individuals with more complex barriers to employment by the end of the decade, across England and Wales.

Mayors and Local Authorities have been funded to design and deliver local Connect to Work programmes. It is delivered through a higher number of smaller delivery areas than has been the case for recent national DWP contracted employment programmes. This approach aims to support better integration with local services and enable more smaller local organisations to have the opportunity to be involved in delivery.

Areas choose how the programme is delivered, for example, in house or through external providers; and how any external provider is selected. DWP has not mandated the type of provider, but the grant guidance includes the voluntary and charitable sector as examples of potential local partners and supporting organisations. Areas have been encouraged to ensure any delivery organisation has good local knowledge, as well as the ability to deliver Supported Employment.

Evaluation is a key driver in delivering DWP’s priority outcomes and ensuring alignment with the Government’s Plan for Change. As set out in the DWP Evidence and Evaluation Strategy, ongoing evaluation of employment support programmes assesses whether they are achieving intended results and informs future policy design.

For example, an evaluation of the Work Choice programme - a voluntary scheme supporting disabled people facing employment barriers or at risk of job loss – was published in April 2025. Voluntary sector organisations, including providers such as Shaw Trust and Leonard Cheshire Disability, played a significant role in delivering Work Choice, both as prime contractors and as subcontractors.

The evaluation found that, eight years after referral, participants had a payrolled employment rate 11 percentage points higher than the comparison group. This meant that the programme delivered strong value for money, estimated to return £1.67 to the Exchequer, in benefit savings and taxes, for every £1 spent.

On 29^th January 2026, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions announced in Parliament the Government’s new response to the PHSO report on State Pension age communications.

We have set out our detailed reasoning for our new decision in our decision document, including consideration of the 2007 report. This can be read in full in the House library. The decision document is also available here: Government response to Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s Investigation into Women’s State Pension age communications and associated issues - GOV.UK

The report in question was published in 2007. We have now placed it in the House library, where it can be read in full. This report is also available here: Evaluation of Automatic State Pension Forecasts

In the year 2024/ 2025, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) carried out 1,444 inspections in Scotland.

Seven of these took place on farms (not including premises predominately involved in forestry or aquaculture); and eleven took place in social care settings.

These figures are based on raw live data and can be subject to change due to updates to historical cases. Therefore these figures may differ to the figures published in HSE’s Annual Reports.

The information requested is not held because data is not held at individual country level.

Access to Work provides support for individual needs within the workplace, above and beyond the employer’s reasonable adjustments.

When an award is renewed, Access to Work case managers consider all relevant evidence and current guidance to ensure that the support offered continues to be appropriate for the customer to carry out their job.

The support that a customer will receive from Access to Work is dependent upon their needs and circumstances at the time they make an application. Case managers will use the current guidance to ensure Access to Work principles are considered when making a decision on support.

Information on the average weekly amount of Housing Benefit paid to private landlords, by regions, is available on Stat-Xplore via the Housing Benefit official statistics (https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/). The information can be found in the Housing Benefit – Data from April 2018 dataset and is currently available to August 2025.

Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest, and if needed, can access guidance on how to extract the information required. There is also a Universal Credit Official Statistics: Stat-Xplore user guide.

We have interpreted your question as relating to DWP workforce.

As part of the Jobs and Careers Service Programme the department will develop a plan to support the transition to the new organisation. As the design is still evolving so are our plans relating to the workforce. At present we continue to anticipate workforce needs in line with our existing processes and remain flexible as the design continues to take shape.

We apologise for the delay in responding to this case. A reply was issued on 27 January 2026.

MP casework is handled by the Department’s complaints and correspondence teams as a priority, with a target response time of 15 working days. However, increased volumes of complaints and a rise in more complex cases have led to some delays. To address this, the Department has recruited additional staff to improve the timeliness and efficiency of responses.

The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

The requested information is provided below.

a) In November 2025, 1.9 million people on UC had net earnings above £1047.50 (which is the £12,570 annual personal allowance divided by 12). This includes earnings from employment and self-employment.

b) This equates to 22% of all people on UC.

Notes:

Volume is rounded to the nearest 100,000

Percentage is rounded to the nearest 1%

The first phase of the Jobs Guarantee will provide jobs to more than 1,000 young people in Birmingham & Solihull, East Midlands, Greater Manchester, Hertfordshire & Essex, Central & East Scotland, Southwest & Southeast Wales.

In phase one, we expect to make around 150 referrals across the Central and East Scotland region, which includes areas covered by both Glasgow City Council and The City of Edinburgh Council, alongside other local authorities.

Maps published alongside our grant guidance show the phase one delivery areas and the distribution of demand across local authorities. These can be viewed here: Phase One Delivery Area Heat Maps - GOV.UK.

Phase One will be followed by national roll out of the Jobs Guarantee across Great Britain later in 2026, providing a total of 55,000 jobs over the next three years.

The Department recognises that the recent increase in the volume of MP enquiries, alongside a rise in the complexity of cases requiring more detailed investigation, has contributed to delays in meeting our standard response timescales.

To address this, the Department has taken a number of steps to improve the timeliness and efficiency of responses to MP enquiries:

• Additional resource has been deployed to our complaints and correspondence teams, with ongoing monitoring of the impact on response times.
• The Universal Credit MP hotline service has been streamlined through the introduction of a single national contact number, improving accessibility and consistency.
• Guidance on the W4MP website has been updated to ensure MP offices have clear visibility of the appropriate contact numbers for each benefit product line.
• Recruitment is underway for additional Universal Credit complaint handlers to support efforts to reduce the volume of outstanding enquiries and improve response times.

As at 31 December 2025, we can confirm the following joiner data for the 16–24 age band:

We have provided the number of consolatory payments made in the last five years to benefit recipients in recognition of delays and errors made by DWP in the table below.

The Department for Work and Pensions is committed to reducing waiting times for claimants awaiting a WCA reassessment. The department is increasing assessment capacity by working with suppliers to expand their workforce, including through accelerated recruitment and training of additional assessors. These measures will help ensure that the department continues to prioritise assessments for new claims, while also increasing throughput of reassessment activity.

From 1 January 2018 to 31 January 2026, the mean average working days for outstanding Work Capability Assessment (WCA) reassessments currently stands at 290 days, whilst the current longest waiting time for an outstanding WCA reassessment to be completed is 1,870 working days (3 December 2018).

Please note

• All volumes have been rounded to the nearest 10.
• All the above data is derived from contractual management information produced by the Assessment Providers.
• The above data is derived from unpublished management information which is collected for internal Departmental use only and has not been quality assured to Official Statistics Publication standards.
• The date range for the mean average working days for outstanding WCA reassessments 1 January 2018 to 31 January 2026 has been used because the outstanding cases within our head of work can be traced back to 1 January 2018.

The number of Access to Work applications has risen significantly. We are committed to reducing waiting times. We also prioritise applications from customers who are due to start work within the next four weeks, as well as renewals for existing grants, to minimise disruption to employment.

In March 2025, the Department published the Pathways to Work Green Paper, launching a consultation on the future of Access to Work and how the scheme can better support disabled people in employment. We are reviewing all aspects of the programme as we develop plans for reform following the conclusion of the consultation.

As of the 1st of February 2026, there were 66,218 applications awaiting a decision.

As of the 1st of October 2025, please refer to the answer given on 22 October 2025 to Question UIN 80759. As of the 1st of April 2025, please refer to the answer given on 10 June 2025 to Question UIN 56299.

Please note that the data supplied is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal Departmental use only, and have not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has undertaken an investigation into the incident and has been in touch with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), most recently on 19 January.

HSE does not publish its reports.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has undertaken an investigation into the incident and has been in touch with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), most recently on 19 January.

HSE does not publish its reports.

The Fraud, Error and Recovery Act will deliver on the government’s manifesto commitment to safeguard taxpayers’ money and demonstrates the government’s commitment not to tolerate fraud, error or waste anywhere in public services, including the social security system. It will reduce public sector fraud and error and allow the more effective recovery of monies owed to government. It includes powers to modernise DWP’s investigation powers to help prove or disprove suspected fraud more quickly and allows DWP to take greater control in our investigations into serious organised crimes through new powers of entry, search and seizure.

All powers in the Act are underpinned by a principle of fairness and proportionality, with numerous safeguards and independent oversight in place. The measures in this Act will provide benefits to the taxpayer of £2.1 billion by 2030/31, part of wider plans that will save £14.6 billion.

In December 2025, DWP launched a 12-week consultation on three Codes of Practice which, once finalised, will be laid before Parliament and will support delivery of key measures in the Act.

The Government is reforming Jobcentre Plus and creating a new service across Great Britain to enable everyone to access support to find meaningful work and progress in employment. In England, this includes bringing together Jobcentre Plus with the National Careers Service into a unified jobs and careers service.

The replacement for the Find a Job service will be developed as part of this wider programme, providing an integrated, digital first offer that helps people search and apply for jobs and access careers advice, alongside tailored support from Work Coaches where needed.

As with other modern digital services delivered by the Department, the new service will be iterated over time. Before and after changes are made, we undertake user research with customers to gain feedback on their experience and suggestions for improvements, ensuring that services are designed around the needs of users, including those who require additional support to access digital channels. We will continue to align our approach with wider cross government ambitions for secure, user centred and efficient online services, as set out in the Government’s roadmap for digital and data. We are also following all relevant departmental and cross government governance processes in line with the blueprint for digital government.