Home Department written question – answered at on 9 November 2010.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department
(1) whether she has assessed the merits of short-time working for all staff at the Newport Passport Office as an alternative to the proposed reduction in the number of jobs at that office;
(2) whether the impact assessment for the closure of the Newport Passport Office will take into account the levels of unemployment in neighbouring areas from which the staff at the passport office are drawn; and if she will make a statement.
The offer of a shorter working week for staff would not absorb the excess capacity, in terms of both people and the physical estate, that exists within the Identity and Passport Service (IPS). In order for IPS to continue to deliver value for money, the proposed restructuring of the passport application processing centres requires that savings are achieved through the closure of the centre at Newport and the corresponding reductions in staff.
The Impact Assessment will make use of relevant data from the StatsWales website and the Longitudinal Labour Force Survey and the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings compiled by the Office of National Statistics. Data will be applied on a regional basis.
Yes8 people think so
No2 people think not
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