Job seekers will no longer be forced to take just “any job” going under sweeping reforms to the benefits system, a minister has revealed. Employment Minister Alison McGovern said the government was tearing up a key rule that pushed people into insecure, low-paid work regardless of their circumstances.
Instead, she pledged long-term, personalised career help – even as her department faces fierce criticism for slashing disability benefits. In an overhaul of Jobcentre operations, Ms McGovern said: “One of the things that broke me was reading people say that they thought ‘no one would want them’. I cannot live with the idea that there are people in this country who think that no one wants them.”
Under the new approach, job seekers will be supported to find “fulfilling” and stable careers, with new technology such as artificial intelligence freeing up staff to offer more human and tailored guidance, particularly for those with complex health issues or long-term unemployment.
It comes amid a Labour mutiny over the cuts to personal independence payments (PIP) and incapacity benefits. Up to 170 Labour MPs are poised to rebel or abstain when the plans come to a vote – a revolt that could deal a humiliating defeat to Sir Keir Starmer’s government.
Ms McGovern told the Guardian: “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.”
Despite public reassurances, the government has pushed ahead with benefit reforms expected to leave thousands worse off. The Resolution Foundation think tank has warned the changes could drive more people into poverty, even as Labour claims the reforms will help more into work.
Ms McGovern defended the policy, saying those affected would receive vastly improved support, including help from GPs and physiotherapists, in addition to revamped Jobcentre services. In trials already under way, the usual five-minute interviews with work coaches are being replaced by longer sessions, allowing staff to “see the whole person”.
Claimants are encouraged to share their personal stories so tailored help can be provided – including matching them with employers or helping them stay in work once placed.
“Nobody is ever going to make a film of I, Daniel Blake, but the reverse,” said Ms McGovern, referencing the Ken Loach drama about a man failed by the benefits system.
“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.”
She accused the Tories of leaving behind a “black hole” in the employment support system, with a “top-down bureaucratic” approach that had done little to reduce joblessness. The government will increase funding for work support for people with long-term health conditions to £1billion annually by the end of the decade – though just £300million is set aside for next year.
Labour’s changes include using AI tools such as “DWP Ask” to handle routine admin tasks, giving staff more time to provide face-to-face guidance. Forms will also be filled in ahead of job coach meetings to make sessions more effective.
The minister said just one in six employers currently engage with Jobcentres – something she is determined to fix. “The Tories used to talk about ABC: ‘Any job, Better job, Career’,” she said.
“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.”
Ms McGovern said she was especially concerned for young people, many of whom are still suffering the long-term psychological effects of Covid. In some cases, she said, work coaches have had to accompany young claimants to job fairs or other public spaces to help them overcome severe social anxiety.
“Now, that tells me that there’s an issue,” she said. “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.”
While her party is divided, Ms McGovern insisted the changes are vital.
“I don’t blame colleagues for listening to their constituents who are fearful,” she said. “But people will only stop being afraid if they can see that the system has truly changed.”
She concluded: “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.”
