Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what contingency plans her Department has made to support employees of GKN made redundant as a result of the takeover of that company by Melrose; and if she will make a statement.

To date, we have not been notified of any GKN employees being made redundant as a consequence of a takeover by Melrose.

If this should occur, they will be entitled to support through the Rapid Response Service and Jobcentre Plus Districts stand ready to deploy this as soon as it is required.

An outline of the service is below:

DWP offer a Rapid Response Service (RRS). This is a redundancy service designed to give support and advice to employers and their employees when under threat of redundancy. It is co-ordinated nationally by the National Employer and Partnership Team (NEPT) and is managed by Jobcentre Plus. Delivery partners include The National Careers Service, HMRC, Money Advice Service, local training providers, employers, and the skills bodies.

The range of support available from JCP and partners may include:

• Information, advice and guidance.
• Connecting people to jobs in the labour market.
• Help with job search, including CV writing, interview skills, where to find jobs and how to apply for them.
• Help to identify transferable skills and skills gaps (linked to the local labour market).
• Training to update skills, learn new ones and gain industry recognised certification that will improve employability.
• Help to overcome barriers to attending training or securing a job or self-employment, such as child care costs, necessary tools, work clothes and travel costs.
• For large redundancies, we may also provide on-site services to promote jobs or to take benefit claims.
• Jobs fairs and job clubs (where appropriate).