Sunak cracks whip to get those on benefits into work

Chancellor wants more people to use employment coaches as one in five in some areas claim support

RISHI SUNAK is backing a drive to get more people on benefits into work as figures show more than one in five people in some parts of the country are claiming the support. The Chancellor and Thérèse Coffey, the Work and Pensions Secretary, want to increase the number of people on Universal Credit who can get access to a work coach.

Analysis of government data shows that in some parts of the UK more than one in five people who are of working age are claiming out of work benefits. The figure for Blackpool is 25.5 per cent, for Middlesbrough it is 23 per cent and for Hartlepool it is 22 per cent. In Liverpool and Birmingham it is 20 per cent.

There has also been a marked increase since the Covid-19 pandemic struck two years ago in the number of people citing long-term sickness as the reason they are not working.

Under benefit rules, anyone on Universal Credit can stop getting help from a taxpayer-funded “work coach” when they are employed for nine hours a week. But Ms Coffey wants to increase that to at least 12 hours – or possibly higher.

She and Mr Sunak are leading the push within Cabinet to change the rules. It is hoped the reform would help people who have moved into employment but are still claiming Universal Credit to get more work.

A so-called “work coach” holds meetings with the individual being helped, often every other week, where they are given support and advice for finding more work. The beneficiary is also given access to a messaging service with the coach, which allows them to seek quick written advice about developments such as a new job interview.

Discussions between the Treasury and the Department for Work and Pensions are ongoing. There would be a financial cost to widening out who can benefit from work coaches, though figures close to the talks say it would not involve vast amounts of extra funding.

The push comes as Downing Street redoubles its efforts to ease the cost of living crisis and boost economic growth.

It also comes amid a government drive to get civil servants back into the office, amid concern work from home habits adopted during the pandemic are harming productivity. A general move to hybrid working is also feared to damage town centre economies where businesses rely on office workers. Boris Johnson and Mr Sunak are to do a joint speech this month touting a “plan for growth”, after the Bank of England forecasted recession could hit later this year.

Allies of the Prime Minister say that focusing on low unemployment figures and measures being taken to increase growth can help see off a growing Tory rebellion. There has been criticism of how the official unemployment figure is reached, since scores of people who are on benefits and say they are not seeking work are not included in the count.