Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many full-time equivalent work coaches were employed by her Department in (a) January, (b) February, (c) March, (d) April and (e) May 2020; and how many additional work coaches she plans to recruit before August 2020.

For the period January 2020 to May 2020, approximately 13,200 full-time equivalent (FTE) work coaches were employed by the Department. During this period, we have seen an unprecedented number of new benefit claims, with work coaches and thousands of DWP staff moving roles to ensure these claims were processed and claimants paid on time.