DWP Estate: Decommissioning of Temporary Jobcentres
(Limited Text - Ministerial Extracts only)
Read Full debate
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Mims Davies)
Jobcentres provide an essential service for those looking for, or wanting to progress in, work. This Department continues its commitment to provide local personalised support for customers and families and remains committed to striking the right balance between providing these essential services and delivering value for money for the taxpayer. Location Address Bellshill New Lanarkshire House, Dove Wynd, Strathclyde Business Park, Bellshill ML4 3FB Birmingham Unit 40-42 Greenwood Way, Chelmsley Wood Shopping Centre, Birmingham B37 5TP Bury Manchester Millgate Shopping Centre, Clerke Street, Bury BL9 OQQ Cardiff NSU2 Capitol Shopping Centre, Queen Street, Cardiff CF10 2HQ Chelmsford 39 The Meadows, Chelmsford CM2 6FD Chester 32-38 Foregate Street, Chester CH11HA Chesterfield 7 Steeplegate Chesterfield S40 1SA Chichester Units 2 and 3, Southern Gate Office Village, Southern Gate, Chichester P019 8GR Coventry Coventry Building Society Arena, Judds Lane, Coventry CV6 6GE Crawley 1 Forest Gate, Brighton Road, Crawley RH11 9PT Derby Barclays Business Centre, Sir Frank Whittle Road, Derby DE21 4RX Derby 20 Albion Walk, Derbion Shopping Centre, Albion Street, Derby DE1 2PR Dudley 237-238a High Street, Dudley DY11PQ Edinburgh 11-15 North Bridge, Edinburgh EH11SB Folkestone 14-16 Sandgate Road, Folkestone CT20 1 DP Kirkcaldy 29 The Mercat, Kirkcaldy KY1 1NU Liverpool Liverpool Innovation Park, 360 Edge Lane, Building 2 Bayliss Suite, Liverpool L7 9NJ London Aldgate Tower Hamlets Ground Floor 100 Leman Street, London E1 8EU London Ealing 54 The Broadway, Ealing, W5 5JN London Mitcham The Grange, 1 Central Road, Morden, SM4 5PQ London Wembley 498 High Road, Wembley, HA9 7BH Manchester Stretford (the additional space will be decommissioned and potentially, repurposed - the established Jobcentre at Arndale House will continue to provide Jobcentre services) Arndale House, Chester Road, Stretford M32 9ED Middlesbrough 27-33 Dundas Shopping Centre, Dundas Street, Middlesbrough TS1 1HR Newton Abbot 10 Courtenay Street, Newton Abbot TQ12 2DT North Shields Kings Court, Earl Grey Way, North Shields NE29 6AR Nuneaton Unit 2, Ropewalk, Chapel Street, Nuneaton CV11 5TZ Peterborough Northminster House, Northminster Road, Peterborough PE1 1YN Sheffield Block 3, Pennine Five Campus 3 Tenter Street, Sheffield S1 4BY Southend 101 -109 High Street, Southend on Sea SS1 1LQ Stoke on Trent 1 Smithfield, Leonard Coates Way, Stoke on Trent ST1 4FA Swinton 51-53 The Parade, Swinton Square Shopping Centre, Chorley Road, Swinton M27 4BH Thornaby (Stockton-on-Tees) Dunedin House, Columbia Drive, Thornaby TS17 6BJ Watford 78 St Albans Road, Watford WD17 1AF West Bromwich 5 Lombard Street, West Bromwich B70 8RT Woking 6 Church Street West, Woking GU21 6AZ Worthing 105-109 Montague Street, Worthing BN 11 3BP
As part of its transformational programme, the Department has also committed to improving its estate to provide a better space for colleagues and customers, which will improve the opportunities, services and environments of many of the Jobcentres we are retaining.
In the written statement of 8 February 2023, the Department announced the decommissioning of 20 temporary Jobcentres (Phase 1). These temporary Jobcentres (or the expansion of space in established Jobcentres) were put in place in direct response to the anticipated pressures on the labour market during the pandemic. The Department secured time-limited funding to rapidly introduce this additional space to deliver a temporary expansion to the existing network of 639 established Jobcentre sites and provide more work coaches to support claimants. The temporary expansion of the Jobcentre estate enabled us to drive forward our plan for jobs, helping people back into the labour market, right across the UK.
The Department re-affirmed its commitment to reducing its Jobcentre estate back to pre-pandemic levels by decommissioning temporary Jobcentres, or the additional space in established Jobcentres, in a phased approach, where the increased capacity is no longer needed. Several of the temporary sites, where they offer better, more suitable accommodation than our existing offices—and provide better value for money for the taxpayer—will be retained. Established Jobcentres will move into these buildings.
In the written statement of 17 May 2023, the Department announced the decommissioning of a further 19 sites—phase 2. It also detailed subsequent phases would follow. The Department is today announcing a third phase of decommissioning, which consists of 36 sites, listed below. Subsequent phases will follow throughout 2023 and 2024 and Parliament will be kept updated.
The Department continues to support and update colleagues affected by these changes in a timely and sensitive manner. Furthermore, the Department continues its ongoing engagement with relevant stakeholders on the planned changes.
Letters are being sent to each MP with changes in their constituency to explain what this means for their local Jobcentre, its staff, and their constituents.
The decommissioning of these temporary Jobcentres will not reduce our levels of service, or access to face-to-face appointments. Customers will return to being served by their established Jobcentre and there will be no reduction in the number of work coaches supporting customers as a result of the decommissioning.
This Department remains committed to updating Parliament on our work to ensure both our staff and customers are operating in buildings and environments fit for the future.
The 36 temporary Jobcentres to be formally decommissioned are:
[HCWS869]