Jobcentre Plus or minus? Exploring the performance of Jobcentre Plus for non-jobseekers

Since April 2002 Jobcentre Plus has started to operate nationwide in the UK providing fully integrated benefit claiming and work placement/job-seeking activities for people of working age. This new organisation put an explicit work-focus in the delivery of the benefit system. Along with Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) claimants who traditionally have been the focus of relevant work-focused policies, Jobcentre Plus targets a much wider group of clients including lone parents, disabled people and carers. Although the work-focus of the new organisation could be beneficial for clients who themselves have an explicit work orientation, its effect on clients for whom work is not a feasible option are far less clear. This paper explores whether the changes in the delivery of the benefit system introduced by Jobcentre Plus have been beneficial for claimants who are not jobseekers and assesses which aspects of the new organisation work well and which could be improved in order to address more effectively the needs of non-job-oriented clients.