Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average rate of unemployment is in those communities in which his Department is proposing to close jobcentres.

It is worth clarifying that although some Jobcentre buildings are proposed for closure, the staff and services will merge with nearby offices to continue delivering DWP services within communities. We are committed to retaining a Jobcentre network and continuing to serve people in all areas of the country to make sure they can continue to access the services they need, and the purpose of the equality analysis is to help establish how many people are likely to be affected by the proposals to close some offices.

We are unable to provide the average unemployment rates specifically for the areas where a Jobcentre building is proposed for closure however the claimant counts for each Jobcentre are available from the following link: https://www.nomisweb.co.uk. Guidance for users is available at: https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/home/newuser.asp