Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps is he is taking to support job seekers in rural areas.

In Lincolnshire, and across the country, our Jobcentre teams are supporting people back into work and helping those in work to progress. We have a comprehensive range of support in place and are working with local and national employers to help fill vacancies quickly, delivering sector-based work academy programmes (SWAPs), recruitment days, job fairs, and work trials. Jobcentres have the flexibility to work alongside national and local organisations to help meet the needs of their communities, including in rural areas.

In Lincolnshire, the department worked with the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership on provision to assist with a shortage of drivers in the logistics sectors, with training delivered through Boston, Stamford, and Lincoln colleges with good levels of take up.

Adequate transport links can be a major factor that affects employment, and claimants are made aware of the bus fare cap operating throughout Lincolnshire and the East Midlands, operated by local bus companies.

DWP works closely with Boston College that provides outreach services in Spalding, as well as bus transport to facilitate access to their services from rural areas. Boston College also delivers their digital course within Spalding Jobcentre, for those unable to travel into Boston. Where access is still difficult, we have engaged with other providers to deliver virtual programmes, for example NetUK and Steadfast. We have also worked with Lincolnshire County Council for delivery of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) provision to be delivered in the Spalding Jobcentre.