Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the date is for the proposed outreach provision to be operational after the proposed closure of Southall Jobcentre on 26 January 2018; what the staffing requirement for that provision will be; and how and when service users will be notified of the date for that provision to be operational and how to access that provision.

We have formally agreed that an outreach provision will be available from the Dominion Centre site in Southall and are confident that it will be in place by 26 January when Southall Jobcentre closes. This outreach provision may be available prior to the closure of Southall Jobcentre if the detailed arrangements are concluded earlier than expected.

The outreach service will be available 9am-5pm Monday to Friday. We anticipate being able to base between two and four members of staff at the site.

Existing customers will be notified about the outreach provision by Work Coaches at face-to-face interviews before the Southall Jobcentre closure date. Customers will also be handed a written notification about their new jobcentre and the new outreach provision.

Information about the new outreach facility will also be shared through our local partnership network.

Posters about the closure of Southall Jobcentre and the new outreach provision, will be displayed in Southall Jobcentre, as soon as the opening date of the new outreach provision is finalised. We expect this to take place within the first two weeks of January.