Employment: Advisory Services
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many work coaches there are per (a) capita and (b) Universal Credit claimant in (i) England and (ii) each region.
Answered by Dame Diana Johnson
The requested work coach data for England has been provided at district level. Pure English regional data is unavailable as some English regions are combined with Scotland and Wales for Universal Credit administration purposes.
Information on numbers of Universal Credit claimants by region can be obtained from DWP’s Stat Xplore tool Stat XPlore
Population estimates are published by the Office for National Statistics and can be found at Population estimates - Office for National Statistics
ENGLAND DISTRICTS | FTE |
AVON, SOMERSET & GLOUCESTERSHIRE | 400 |
BERKSHIRE, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE & OXFORDSHIRE | 390 |
BIRMINGHAM & SOLIHULL | 710 |
BLACK COUNTRY & COVENTRY | 620 |
CHESHIRE & LANCASHIRE | 580 |
CUMBRIA & TEES | 300 |
DEVON & CORNWALL | 340 |
DORSET WILTSHIRE HAMPSHIRE & ISLE OF WIGHT | 660 |
EAST LONDON | 860 |
EAST MIDLANDS | 550 |
ESSEX | 400 |
GREATER MANCHESTER | 960 |
HERTFORDSHIRE | 210 |
KENT | 420 |
LEICESTERSHIRE, CAMBRIDGESHIRE & RUTLAND | 440 |
MERSEYSIDE | 450 |
NORFOLK & SUFFOLK | 320 |
NORTH & MID WALES AND THE MARCHES | 130 |
NORTH EAST YORKSHIRE & LINCOLNSHIRE | 520 |
NORTH LONDON | 640 |
NORTHUMBERLAND, DURHAM, TYNE & WEAR | 500 |
SOUTH LONDON | 900 |
SOUTH MIDLANDS | 450 |
SOUTH YORKSHIRE | 380 |
SURREY & SUSSEX | 500 |
THE SHIRES | 500 |
WEST LONDON | 850 |
WEST YORKSHIRE | 760 |
ENGLAND TOTAL | 14,730 |
Notes:
- Work Coach Full Time Equivalent (FTE) data supplied is from September 2025.
- The number of Work Coaches has been derived from DWP's Activity Based Model (ABM). This model gives an estimated FTE based on a point in time estimate by Line Managers, as recorded on our internal systems each month.
- Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10 FTE.
- The number of Work Coaches refers to staff involved in conducting regular engagement with claimants, hence the data does not include Work Coach Team Leaders or Disability Employment Advisers.
- Work coaches include both UC Full-Service Work Coaches and Existing Benefits Work Coaches.
- The number of staff employed is unpublished management information, collected and intended for internal departmental use and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard.
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