NAO: Missed appointments costing Jobcentre
One in 10 appointments missed last year
Jobcentre Plus centres are
losing money and personal advisors are having to do even more administrative
work because 10% of appointments were missed last year, a new report has found.
Public sector watchdog, the National Audit
Office, said 1.8 million appointments out of a total of 10.8 million
interviews were missed last year.
The NAO found that the more than 9,000 advisors spend just 52% of their time
interviewing people.
On the positive side, the NAO report found that efforts are being made to
make jobseekers more aware of their obligation to turn up on time, while
overall, the watchdog praises personal advisors, saying they provide an
‘effective and highly valued service’ for people looking for work.
Auditor
general John Bourn said: ‘Overall my findings are encouraging. Personal
advisers have proved themselves an effective means of supporting people on
benefits looking for work and they are delivering a good service.’
Further reading:
NAO offers advice on public sector IT projects
NAO qualifies Department for Work & Pensions’ accounts
UK statement on EU spend to be audited by NAO