Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to eliminate violence-at-work incidents in (a) Govan jobcentre and (b) her Department's offices across the UK; and if she will make a statement.

The Department for Work and Pensions takes any form of abuse and harassment (including violence-at-work incidents) of its staff by customers and claimants very seriously. Robust controls are in place to mitigate the risk of unacceptable customer behaviour (UCB) and eliminate violence-at-work as far as reasonably practicable, including security presence, risk assessments and training for our staff. We review outcomes of our most serious incidents and consider any lessons learned to make improvements to our processes and training when necessary to help prevent reoccurrence.

Govan Jobcentre and its staff follow Departmental policy and guidance to minimise violence at work. We encourage our people to report every instance of UCB and we take action against individuals, with measures proportionate to the seriousness of the incident. Where acts of violence do occur we provide a number of solutions through employee assistance and wellbeing initiatives to support those individuals that require it.

In the last year to March 2018, there has been 1 reported incident of attempted assault, 20 reported incidents of verbal abuse, 4 reported incidents of verbal threats and 12 incidents recorded for other reasons at Govan Jobcentre. A full health and safety check was undertaken at Govan Jobcentre on 26 April 2018.