AQW 45276/22-27 Written question to the Minister for Communities
To ask the Minister for Communities to detail the number of Universal Credit applicants who have received support from work coaches, in each of the last three years, broken down by constituency,
Asked by Sian Mulholland MLA on 30 April 2026
- Answered
- Written
- After due date
- Tabled
- 30 April 2026
- Answer due by
- 18 May 2026
- Answered
- 20 May 202620 days after tabling
- Department
- Department for Communities
- Priority question
- No
Answer
As Universal Credit claimants can move between work regimes as well as moving off and back onto the benefit over time, this information is not available for individual claimants.
However, during the year 2023/24 work coaches across the Department’s 35 Jobs & Benefits offices booked 880,552 appointments with claimants. For 2024/25, a total of 984,930 appointments were booked and for 2025/26 a further 970,981 work coach appointments were booked. This totals 2,836,463 work coach appointments over the past 3 years.
In addition, work coaches provided support to other benefit claimants and jobseekers. This includes support with benefit claims as well as job fairs, employer events and information sessions held in a wide variety of community settings across Northern Ireland.