Jobcentres: Scotland

(asked on 14th May 2018) - View Source

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effect of the proposed closures of jobcentres on local communities in Scotland.


Answered by
Alok Sharma Portrait
Alok Sharma
COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
This question was answered on 22nd May 2018

The 20-year contract covering the majority of DWP offices came to an end on 31 March 2018. Our announcement on 5 July 2017 confirmed that some smaller jobcentres would merge with larger ones, and others would be co-located with local government premises. As part of this, we confirmed that there would be a net reduction of 10 jobcentre offices, from 94 to 84, across Scotland. All mergers have now taken place, with the exception of Alexandria Jobcentre, which is merging with Dumbarton by the end of August 2018.

Throughout the estate review, DWP has been mindful of its duties under the Equality Act 2010 and has carried out local level equality analysis to inform understanding of the effect of our plans and careful consideration has been given to the wider effect on local communities.

The equality analysis findings were one of a number of considerations used to make decisions about our jobcentres. These included a complex range of factors, such as the effect on our people, customer service, the equality analysis, value for money and business needs.

This is not about reducing jobs or services. It is about reducing the amount that we spend on rent that goes towards empty space and reinvesting those savings in supporting claimants.

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