Jobcentre Plus (Lanarkshire)

Oral Answers to Questions — Scotland – in the House of Commons at 11:30 am on 26 October 2004.

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Photo of Tom Clarke Tom Clarke Labour, Coatbridge and Chryston 11:30, 26 October 2004

What discussions he has had with the Department of Work and Pensions about plans for the future of Jobcentre Plus in Lanarkshire.

Photo of Frank Roy Frank Roy Labour, Motherwell and Wishaw

What plans he has to visit Jobcentres in Lanarkshire in the near future.

Photo of Alistair Darling Alistair Darling The Secretary of State for Scotland, The Secretary of State for Transport

I talk to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions about a range of issues, including jobcentre provision. I have no immediate plans to visit the jobcentres in Lanarkshire, though.

Photo of Tom Clarke Tom Clarke Labour, Coatbridge and Chryston

May I thank my right hon. Friend for his interest and encourage him to ensure that the consultations that are taking place include not just Lanarkshire Members of Parliament, but people genuinely seeking employment and people on low incomes, whose travel costs will increase considerably if the current proposals are unchanged?

Photo of Alistair Darling Alistair Darling The Secretary of State for Scotland, The Secretary of State for Transport

As my right hon. Friend will know for understandable reasons, I take a close interest in what is happening in the Department for Work and Pensions and in relation to the jobcentres. It is important for people to understand that what we are trying to do is completely change the way in which people are dealt with in jobcentres. There is more money going into the estate, there are better offices, much more pleasant surroundings and far better advice, and it is bringing together the benefit system and the employment system. None the less, my right hon. Friend is right to make the point that we must make sure that the offices are in the right places and that they are convenient for people. I know that he and our hon. Friend Mr. Roy have a meeting with our right hon. Friend the Minister for Work at the Department for Work and Pensions on 10 November. She has made it clear to me that she will listen with an open mind to what my right hon. and hon. Friends have to say about the matter, to make sure that we get the service to which people are entitled.

Photo of Frank Roy Frank Roy Labour, Motherwell and Wishaw

May I tell my right hon. Friend that the jobcentre roll-out programme in Lanarkshire has been renamed the jobcentre wipeout plan? Does he agree that in an area such as Motherwell and Wishaw, with nearly double the average rate of unemployment in the rest of the United Kingdom, it is absurd to close both the social security office and the jobcentre in Wishaw, and even more absurd to think that the work currently undertaken by five offices can be done by a single office in Motherwell?

Photo of Alistair Darling Alistair Darling The Secretary of State for Scotland, The Secretary of State for Transport

That is a point that my hon. Friend will no doubt put to our right hon. Friend the Minister for Work. In my experience at the Department of Social Security, there were many things that it had done for many, many years that were not being done particularly efficiently and not in the best way to suit members of the public, who after all are the most important people in this context. Of course my hon. Friend is right to raise specific concerns about the siting of offices, but the general changes that we are making are creating a far better service for the public than we have had in the past. However, he is right to say that we must ensure that the offices are in the right place and that people are not left without services where that is appropriate.

Photo of John Thurso John Thurso Shadow Secretary of State for Transport, Shadow Spokesperson (Culture, Media and Sport), Shadow Spokesperson (Scotland), Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (Transport), Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (Culture, Media and Sport), Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (Scotland)

Is it not the case that the concerns expressed by hon. Members regarding Jobcentre Plus offices in Lanarkshire also apply to many other areas of Scotland? Will the Secretary of State join me in recognising the excellent quality of work and service given by the office in Wick? Will he also explain to those employed there why their jobs are under threat, in an area that is already economically depressed and where, because of the distances involved, that threat will make it more difficult to deliver a good service to their clients?

Photo of Alistair Darling Alistair Darling The Secretary of State for Scotland, The Secretary of State for Transport

As I have said over the past few minutes, it is important that the offices are located in the right places so that the public can get the service to which they are entitled. However, we should not lose sight of the general point that I was making that we are trying to provide much better conditions for the staff and for the public, and provide a far better service than we have been able to do in the past. As I said, seven or eight years ago the way in which the DSS was run, because of the lack of computerisation and the lack of investment, meant that it was not offering the sort of service that it should. All hon. Members who have seen the Jobcentre Plus offices that have opened will know that they are qualitatively better than anything that existed in the past. That is not to say that the Department for Work and Pensions will not look carefully at where the offices are. If the hon. Gentleman has a specific concern about his constituency, he should speak to my right hon. Friend the Minister for Work, who I am sure will be delighted to hear from him.

Photo of Rosemary McKenna Rosemary McKenna Labour, Cumbernauld and Kilsyth

Is it not true that most people would prefer to have the decent buildings that I am fortunate enough to have in Cumbernauld, which makes the jobcentre a pleasant place for people to go, with good services? The real concern is the people who are unable to access such a facility. Does my right hon. Friend accept that when I go with my other Lanarkshire colleagues to meet the Minister, we will put the case that jobcentres should provide good, accessible services for people who cannot travel miles to other areas?

Photo of Alistair Darling Alistair Darling The Secretary of State for Scotland, The Secretary of State for Transport

My hon. Friend makes a good point and is right to say that the Jobcentre Plus offices are much better than anything that came before them. Anyone who has been into a traditional DSS Benefits Agency office will realise that we should not ask people to go to such places in this day and age. She is also right to say that many people want to get in touch with the DWP on the phone or electronically, which was not possible in the past.

Some people need to go to offices, however, and sometimes it is not possible for them to travel long distances. That is why it is right for my right hon. and hon. Friends to speak to the Minister for Work. I am sure that she will be delighted to discuss those matters, because it is important that we get the provision of those offices right.