01 December 2006
Personal advisers working for Jobcentre Plus spent only half their time interviewing clients because of the burden imposed by paperwork, government auditors have said.
The advisers provide a highly valued service and have had a positive impact on improving customers' confidence and boosting their job-seeking skills, the National Audit Office said in a report on November 29.
There are more than 9,000 Jobcentre Plus personal advisers. Last year they conducted 10.8 million interviews with people looking for work.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has identified significant improvements in relieving unemployment levels in countries that have adopted active job-seeking measures, such as those organised by personal advisers.
But the NAO report said their effectiveness was reduced because of bureaucracy, interruptions, and people failing to turn up for appointments. As a result, only 52% of their time was spent on face-to-face contact, a proportion that could be improved by changes to paperwork and administrative support.
In 2005/06, 1.8 million appointments were missed at a cost of at least £16m in wasted time.
Auditor general Sir John Bourn said, overall, his findings were encouraging. 'Personal advisers have proved themselves an effective means of supporting people on benefits looking for work and they are delivering a good service.
'But better support for personal advisers would allow them more time to do what they do best – actually sitting down with the people who need guidance.'
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