Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many jobs will be affected by the closure of the Department for Work and Pensions office in Seaham.

As of March 2022, 345 colleagues located in Seaham Lighthouse View are being asked to relocate, with their role, to Sunderland Wearview House. Each colleague will have a discussion with their line manager to assess the impact of the move on them and determine if they are able to relocate. The Department’s priority will be retain, retrain and redeploy colleagues either within DWP, or within other Government Departments in the area. As a responsible employer, we will make provision for redundancies if it is necessary, however this will be a very last resort after all efforts to redeploy have been exhausted.