DWP Jobcentre rule change brought in as claimants set to benefit

NewsDWP Jobcentre rule change brought in as claimants set to benefitThe Department for Work and Pensions has proposed a shake-up in the way that Jobcentres in England and Wales

operatehuddersfieldexaminerBookmarkShareCommentsNewsByJames RodgerContent EditorTom KershawContent Editor08:09, 30 MAY 2025BookmarkThe Department for Work and Pensions has proposed a

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The Department for Work and Pensions is poised to make a considerable change in Jobcentre operations affecting over 20 million benefit claimants. With 24 million individuals claiming at

least one DWP benefit, many will see changes to their Jobcentre experience.

In a sweeping reform under the Labour Party government, it has been confirmed that Jobcentres will stop pushing people into 'just any job'. Alison McGovern is pledging lasting

career assistance following major reductions in disability benefits by Labour, reports Birmingham Live.

"I don't blame anybody for being scared or worried about it because given what's happened with changes to disability benefits before, I understand that," she commented.

"One of the things that broke me was reading people say that they thought 'no one would want them,'" McGovern disclosed. "I cannot live with the idea that there's people in

this country who think that no one wants them.

"Nobody is ever going to make a film of I, Daniel Blake, but the reverse," said McGovern. "But what I would like is a person comes into the jobcentre who has perhaps not worked for some

years and ... they are given the time so that they can tell their whole story. Jobcentres will then be able to pick up the phone to tailored specific support for that person's barriers,

then support once they are in work as well. We've got to see the whole person."

She stated: "The Tories used to talk about ABC: 'Any job, Better job, Career'. I think that if you think about the career [first] ... If we can get people into an NHS job where

they're more likely to move on and move up, then that is far better for them.

"Now, that tells me that there's an issue," she added. "We have to pay our debt to the Covid generation ... I worry particularly about young people, and I think there has not been

enough discussion or understanding of what Covid took from young people.

"I don't blame colleagues for listening to their constituents who are fearful," McGovern stated. "I also look at the reality of our economy. And I know that the social security system

is designed as a kind of bulwark against poverty and to help us smooth life events over time. That only works well when you've got an economy that supports people's living

standards.

"[The] social security system can never overcome the sort of deep inadequacies that there are in our economy. What we need is to change our economy, make sure that people have got chances

and choices and opportunity. So I think these changes are necessary. I know that the job is much bigger than that."