DWP services at Phoenix House in Barrow
The petition of residents of the constituency of Barrow and Furness,
Declares that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) services currently housed at Phoenix House in Barrow should not be withdrawn; further that the team at Phoenix House provide a specialist and essential service with industrial injury and disablement benefits; and further that the local community wants the Phoenix House team to remain in Barrow.
The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to ensure that the Department for Work and Pensions services currently housed at Phoenix House in Barrow are not withdrawn.
And the petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Simon Fell , Official Report, 12 October 2022; Vol. 720, c. 222 .]
[P002772]
Observations from the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Mel Stride):
It may be helpful to clarify that, while the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed the closure of Phoenix House, Barrow-in-Furness, as part of its plans for the future delivery of its back-office services, it is not withdrawing the specialist and essential Industrial Injury and Disablement Benefits (IIDB) services.
As the Department approaches the planned closure date of September 2023 for Phoenix House, capability on IIDB is being built in both Bradford and Barnsley. This will ensure that the Department can both increase its resilience and continue to process claims for IIDB when Phoenix House closes. This will also ensure that the same high-quality service is maintained. This includes services for those customers who claim with asbestos- related diseases, or under schemes such as the Workers’ Compensation Scheme, Pneumoconiosis (Workers’ Compensation) Act 1979 and the 2008 mesothelioma scheme.
By reducing and right-sizing its estate, consolidating back-office service delivery functions into fewer, but larger offices accommodating upwards of 300 people where possible, the Department can increase its resilience, but also achieve value for money for the taxpayer.
Additionally, many older buildings are not energy efficient or equipped for the future. Moving to fewer, larger sites that are more efficient and better designed makes them more sustainable and healthier, more pleasant places for our people to work in. This will also create and maintain job opportunities by preserving a geographically dispersed network, and these place-based decisions will drive regional investment and regeneration. Larger multi-functional locations also allow colleagues a broader career path with more opportunities given a wider range of job roles are undertaken in larger buildings.
By delivering significant gross savings of £3.5 billion over a 30-year period, with ongoing annual savings of c£80 million to c£90 million being realised from 2028-29, it will also allow the Department to invest in the remaining estate, over time, to make its offices better places to work.
The Department is actively supporting staff at Phoenix House and wherever possible will look to retain as many people as possible, either within DWP, or by identifying vacancies in other Government Departments in the area, and has already identified a number of suitable opportunities.