DWP to bring 2,700 staff carrying out Universal Credit checks in-house

The Department for Work and Pensions is boosting its civil service headcount by onboarding 2,700 outsourced workers who are part of its Universal Credit checking operations. 

Global business services firm Teleperformance – now branded as TP – was awarded an initial £368m contract for DWP’s “targeted case review” project in 2024. The move was part of the creation of a team of around 6,000 staff tasked with stopping more than £6bn in wrong payments in the flagship benefit by 2027-28. 

PCS, which is the civil service’s biggest union, said DWP’s decision to bring staff on the Teleperformance contract in-house followed frustration on the part of civil service colleagues that the arrangements were “not working”. 

PCS has long opposed departments’ use of outsourced staff. It said concerns about the Teleperformance staff working on the targeted case review project included case handovers that were “not in good shape” and created extra work for DWP. 

Insourcing 2,700 staff could see DWP become the largest department in government again. According to the most recent civil service statistics, as of the end of March this year DWP had a total headcount of 96,925 – just 640 fewer than the Ministry of Justice.

DWP said the decision to end the Teleperformance contract was not made on the basis of any breach of contract or performance issue. The department said the contract was ended to allow an “internal service” to be put in place for the next phase of delivery of targeted case review.  

“We thank TP for their support in helping us to ramp up our targeted case reviews, return money back to the taxpayer and their collaborative approach as a strategic supplier,” a DWP spokesperson said. 

“The decision was taken to deliver targeted case reviews internally for the next phase, as we work to deliver £17.3bn of savings by March 2031, and was not due to supplier performance. Both parties continue to work closely during this phase of transition from supplier to DWP. 

“This is part of wider plans targeting billions of pounds more in savings in the coming years by tackling fraud and error in the welfare system.” 

DWP’s most recent annual report and accounts said targeted case review had delivered a cumulative total of £1.7bn in savings by the end of March this year. The savings figure for 2025-26 alone was £1.1bn.  

The department said that in the last financial year, 1.2m Universal Credit claims had been checked, with roughly 250,000 issues being identified and corrected as part of targeted case review work.  

The targeted case review programme has had its timeframe and remit extended since its original launch. It is now due to run until 2031 and will begin checking Pension Credit claims as well as Universal Credit. 

In its annual report and accounts, published in July, DWP described its staffing arrangements for targeted case review as “blended”, with  Teleperformance employees providing “additional review capacity” for “skilled departmental staff”. 

The department said that the addition of “complex case types”, to the programme – such as those involving multiple changes or self-employment – had required processes to be refined and training to be improved for review agents. 

DWP said that while there had been “steady progress in strengthening capability and consistency”, efforts remained “an ongoing process” with further work required to “fully consolidate the operating model”.  

It added: “As new case types and more complex scenarios have been introduced, the operational environment has become more demanding. This has required continued adjustment to tools, training and guidance, and we recognise that these changes may take time to embed fully across all delivery routes.” 

PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote said DWP’s decision to bring Teleperformance staff in-house represented a “significant victory” for the union. 

“We have consistently argued that Universal Credit review work is core civil service work and should never have been outsourced for private profit,” she said. 

“Our members have seen first-hand the problems this contract has created, from poor handovers to additional pressure on DWP staff. Bringing this work back into the public service is the right decision for workers, taxpayers and the delivery of these vital services. 

“Labour pledged to deliver the greatest wave of insourcing for a generation, and this decision shows what can be achieved when government listens to workers and trade unions.” 

In a statement, Teleperformance said it was “untrue” to suggest that performance reasons were behind DWP’s decision to change its operating model for targeted case review.  

“Since being awarded the DWP contract more than two years ago, TP has delivered staffing well ahead of its contractual obligations and has met benchmarks against both quality and productivity and in its strategic relationship with DWP,” the statement said. 

“Both organisations remain fully committed to supporting all colleagues through this transition to ensure operational continuity. Under TP’s and DWP’s collaborative partnership and in accordance with TUPE regulations, the in-scope TP staff involved in the contract will transfer to DWP under a controlled and co-ordinated partnership project with full HR support.”