Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of jobcentre closures on claimants who have difficulty using PCs and the Internet.

Increasingly, our customers access many of our services on-line. This includes claiming benefits, looking for jobs and keeping us informed of their efforts to find work.

The roll out of Universal Credit and our reforms of Jobcentre Plus have increased the number of interactions claimants now have with us online. For example, eight out of ten claims for Jobseeker’s Allowance are now made online and 99.6% of applicants for Universal Credit full service submitted their claim online, reflecting increased digital capability and accessibility. This allows the Department to tailor its service so that face-to-face contact can be focused on those who need extra support.

We are committed to retaining an accessible jobcentre network and continuing to serve customers in all areas and the face to face support our work coaches offer at jobcentres will continue to be a core part of the service we deliver. In order to be able to support customers in the most appropriate way, we have various means of interacting with them, including face to face, e-mail, telephone and by post.