Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the National Audit Office's Department for Work & Pensions Departmental Overview 2021-22, what assessment she has made of the impact of her Department's plans to reduce its jobcentre estate back down to pre‑pandemic levels on the quality of employment support delivered to claimants.

During the pandemic, and in direct response to the pressures placed on the labour market, the department opened new, temporary, Jobcentre sites to supplement the existing Jobcentre network.

As the economy recovers, the department is reviewing and looking to close these temporary Jobcentres to ensure it balances providing essential services and employment support for our customers, with value for money for the taxpayer. If any of the new sites offer better, more suitable, accommodation than our existing offices, the department may look to retain them.

The department is committed to delivering a quality service to ensure all claimants receive the best possible support to meet their individual circumstances and its service delivery framework sets out the expectations for the Jobcentre network, and the requirements for how services are delivered – helping claimants move into, or closer, to work.