DWP to close 42 offices with 'thousands of jobs at risk'
The change “does not impact job centres and the customer-facing interactions”.
Therese Coffey, Secretary of State at the Department for Work and Pensions. Picture: PA.
Some 3,000 jobs within the Department for Work and Pensions could be at risk from plans to close offices across the UK, ministers have heard.
Raising an urgent question about the closures, SNP work and employment spokesman Chris Stephens: “Can the minister confirm that the announcement could mean 3,000 jobs at risk of redundancy in the Department of Work and Pensions? And what measures is he going to ensure that this does not happen?”
He also claimed the DWP was “looking to close offices in high economic deprivation areas” which was “counter-intuitive to the so-called levelling-up agenda”.
Work and Pensions minister David Rutley replied: “In terms of our plans, we, as I said, have been working very closely with colleagues and with PCS over recent months.
“There are going to be around 12,000 colleagues who will be moving from one site to another in close proximity, around 28 sites involved there.
“In terms of colleagues that will be affected where there is no other strategic site nearby, there are around 1,300 colleagues that could be involved.”
The full list is as follows:
Sites closing with no alternative
- Aberdeen, Ebury House
- Barrow in Furness, Phoenix House
- Bishop Auckland, Vinovium House
- Blackburn, Cardwell Place
- Bury St Edmunds, St Andrews house
- Chippenham, St Pauls House
- Exeter, Clarendon House
- Gravesend, The Grove
- Kirkcaldy, Victoria Road
- Milton Keynes, Southgate House
- Peterborough, Bridge Street
- Southampton, St Cross House
- Stoke-on-Trent, Hanley, Stafford Street
Sites closing, alternative offered
- Bathgate, Whitburn Road
- Birkenhead, Hordan House
- Bootle Redgrave Court
- Bradford, Leeds Road
- Burnley, Brun House
- Chesterfield
- Doncaster, Crossgate House
- Dundee, Lindsay House
- Falkirk, Callendar Gate
- Glasgow, Clydebank, Radnor House
- Glasgow, Springburn
- Gloucester, Cedar House
- Liverpool, Belle Vale, Childwall Valley Road
- London Hackney, Sylvester Road
- London Stratford, Jubilee House
- Manchester Chorlton, Graeme House
- Nuneaton, Discovery House
- Oldham, Phoenix House
- Preston, the Guild Centre
- Rotherham, Dearne Valley, Discovery House
- Seaham, Lighthouse View
- Southend-on-Sea, Kingswood House
- St Helens, Gregson House
- Stirling, St Ninians Road
- Stockton-on-Tees, Tees Buildings
- Walsall, government buildings
- Warrington, Hilden House
- Washington, Durham House
- Wellingborough, Lothersdale House
Mr Rutley added that the Government would “see what opportunities there are within DWP” and other departments for affected staff, and added that the change “does not impact job centres and the customer-facing interactions”.
The breaking of an embargo announcing the closures is “disappointing”, a minister has said.
Work and Pensions minister David Rutley told MPs: “This seems to be a very unusual situation. It is very disappointing that the embargo with the PCS (Public and Commercial Services Union) does not seem to have been respected.
“Clearly our staff should be the top priority at this time and I hope that colleagues will understand that I am not able to go into all the details this morning as we are currently briefing affected colleagues as we speak.”
