Mobile Jobcentre vans are to be launched across the UK as a way of “breaking down the barriers that stop people finding good work”.
Unveiling the expansion following a pilot, Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said the Jobcentre on Wheels service is designed around “meeting people where they are”, including unconventional locations such as outside leisure centres and within municipal parks.
This initiative forms part of the government’s wider push to reform employment support, aiming to fulfil a manifesto pledge amidst concerns over a rising national unemployment rate.
“We want to break down the barriers that stop people from finding good work, and that means meeting people where they are,” Mr McFadden said.
“Jobcentres on Wheels are doing exactly that – bringing employment support into the heart of communities.
“That’s why we’re building on the success we’ve already seen, expanding the service so we can unlock opportunities for even more people across the country.”
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has trialled Jobcentre on Wheels vans in the Scottish Highlands, North and Mid Wales and Greater Manchester.
More vehicles will join the fleet across six areas – in Barrow-in-Furness, Blackpool, Wakefield, North Nottinghamshire, Bridgend and Rhondda Cynon Taf, and North Somerset.
According to DWP data, more than half of the visitors to the Jobcentre on Wheels service were not in receipt of benefits.
The Office for National Statistics estimated the unemployment rate for people aged 16 and over was at 5.1% between September and November last year, up from 4.4 per cent during the same period in 2024.
It comes as Tesco’s UK chief, Ashwin Prasad warned last week that Britain is in danger of “sleepwalking into an epidemic” of joblessness.
Taking aim at government policies that increase hiring costs for employers, Mr Prasad said there had been a “clear, gradual change” over the past decade in people falling out of the workforce.
He added that there are “far fewer people in work than there could be” and calling for significant change from the government in how it tackles the issue.
