Asked by: Luciana Berger (Liberal Democrat - Liverpool, Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to page 6 of his Department's Proposal for the Future of Liverpool Edge Hill and Liverpool Wavertree jobcentres, published in January 2017, what the evidential basis is for his statement that the proposals for jobcentres will (a) achieve access to more employers and partners and (b) give access to more employment opportunities.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The larger sites are all geographically based in locations that can offer better services to our customers and access to employers. We are working with partner organisations to ensure individuals have access to the widest range of support during periods of unemployment.
Asked by: Luciana Berger (Liberal Democrat - Liverpool, Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of people who are currently registered to jobcentres in (a) Wavertree and (b) Edge Hill who do not have access to (i) the internet, (ii) a computer and (iii) a telephone; and whether his Department will issue guidance to claimants on places where they can go to access such amenities in the event that the proposed jobcentre closures go ahead.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
No specific assessment has been made of the proportion of claimants registered at Wavertree and Edge Hill Jobcentres without access to the internet, a computer or a telephone. Increasingly, our customers access many of our services on-line. This includes claiming benefits, looking for jobs and keeping us informed of their efforts to find work.
The roll out of Universal Credit and our reforms of Jobcentre Plus have increased the number of interactions claimants now have with us online. For example, eight out of ten claims for Jobseeker’s Allowance are now made online and 99.6% of applicants for Universal Credit full service submitted their claim online, reflecting increased digital capability and accessibility. This allows the Department to tailor its service so that face-to-face contact can be focused on those who need extra support.
We are committed to retaining an accessible Jobcentre network and continuing to serve customers in all areas and the face to face support our work coaches offer at Jobcentres will continue to be a core part of the service we deliver. In order to be able to support customers in the most appropriate way, we have various means of interacting with them, including face to face, e-mail; telephone and by post. In offices over three miles and 20 minutes away by public transport, we are carrying out local consultation prior to implementing any changes to help inform decisions about additional provision, such as outreach services.
Asked by: Luciana Berger (Liberal Democrat - Liverpool, Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 23 February 2017 to Questions 64227, 64643 and 64644, and with reference to his Department's Proposal for the Future of Liverpool Edge Hill and Liverpool Wavertree jobcentres, published in January 2017, whether High Park House jobcentre and Toxeth jobcentre are separate jobcentres.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
To clarify my responses to Questions 64227, 64643 and 64644, there is only one Jobcentre; Toxteth Jobcentre which is based at High Park House 7 High Park Street L8 8DY. The Department has not undertaken an assessment of the number of buses or the public transport costs for journeys to Toxteth and Huyton Jobcentres based on claimants’ residential addresses.
Asked by: Luciana Berger (Liberal Democrat - Liverpool, Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the oral contribution of 20 February 2017, Official Report, column 768, what the evidential basis is for his statement that the proposals for jobcentres will raise utilisation across the city of Liverpool from 66 per cent to 95 per cent; and what the current utilisation rate is of the jobcentres in (a) Wavertree and (b) Edge Hill.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The falling claimant count and the increased use of our online services in recent years mean that 20% of rent is going toward space we are not using. In response, we have sought to redesign our estate in a way that delivers value for the taxpayer while continuing to deliver vital support to our claimants. Many of our offices across Liverpool are currently underutilised, meaning that we are spending money on rent for space that is unused rather than on services and support. The proposal would see a reduction in the number of sites, from 14 Jobcentres to 10 Jobcentres resulting in a space utilisation improvement from 66% to 95%. Merging our staff and services offers the opportunity to maintain and improve the services we provide to claimants across Liverpool while offering the best value for money for the taxpayer.
With 19 front of house and 16 back of house full time equivalent staff occupying 820 m2 of space, utilisation is currently 53% at Wavertree Jobcentre.
With 82 front of house and 9 back of house full time equivalent staff occupying 2,307 m2 space, utilisation is currently 60% at Edge Hill Jobcentre.
Asked by: Luciana Berger (Liberal Democrat - Liverpool, Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Proposal for the future of Liverpool Edge Hill and Liverpool Wavertree jobcentres, published in January 2017, (a) how many work coaches will be available to serve claimants who previously used the jobcentres in Wavertree and Edge Hill and (b) for how many hours a week such coaches will be available.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Detailed site level information on anticipated work coach levels is not yet available, but we are recruiting and expect to have more work coaches in 2018 than we have today.
Our services will continue to be available from Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm and the face to face support our work coaches offer at Jobcentres will remain a core part of the service we deliver.
Asked by: Luciana Berger (Liberal Democrat - Liverpool, Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his Department's paper entitled Proposal for the future of Liverpool Edge Hill and Liverpool Wavertree jobcentres, of January 2017, what the evidential basis is for the statement that it is a reasonable expectation that claimants travel to an office within three miles or 20 minutes by public transport of their existing jobcentre and whether this applies to claimants who have already had to move to visiting one of those two jobcentres as a result.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Within the context of claimant journeys, we believe that it is a reasonable expectation that a claimant travels an additional distance of up to 3 miles, or 20 minutes by public transport, to the new Jobcentre. This may mean slightly longer and slightly shorter journeys for some individual claimants and we have taken this into account when setting the criteria.
There are large areas of the country where claimants have always travelled further than this. A proportion of claimants may also live closer to the proposed new Jobcentre location, so this will remain a convenient location for those people. We therefore view these criteria to be within reasonable expectations.
Asked by: Luciana Berger (Liberal Democrat - Liverpool, Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his Department's paper entitled Proposal for the future of Liverpool Edge Hill and Liverpool Wavertree jobcentres, of January 2017, how many miles to the decimal point the jobcentres in (a) Wavertree and (b) Edge Hill are from the Jobcentre in Huyton (i) in a straight line and (ii) by road.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
No assessment has been made of the distances between Liverpool Edge Hill and Liverpool Wavertree Jobcentres and Huyton Jobcentre. This is because the proposals are to relocate Liverpool Edge Hill and Liverpool Wavertree Jobcentres to High Park House. We have not calculated any distances based on claimants travelling in a straight line as it would be unreasonable to expect them to be able to do so.
According to the information from Google Maps and other sources, the Jobcentre at High Park House, is 1.8 miles away and approximately 8 minutes by car from Liverpool Edge Hill Jobcentre; and 2.9 miles away, approximately 14 minutes by car from Liverpool Wavertree Jobcentre.
Asked by: Luciana Berger (Liberal Democrat - Liverpool, Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his Department's paper entitled Proposal for the future of Liverpool Edge Hill and Liverpool Wavertree jobcentres, of January 2017, how the travelling times by public transport between jobcentre offices that are proposed for closure and the new offices have been calculated; and on what (a) time of day and (b) traffic conditions those calculations are based.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Distances and journey times have been calculated using variety of methods to improve accuracy, including Google Maps and AA route mapping, and information collected about local public transport routes with input from local DWP colleagues.
Regardless of the proposed changes, it is important for claimants to allow sufficient time to attend appointments, taking into consideration the time of day and any local traffic conditions, as they do now.
Asked by: Luciana Berger (Liberal Democrat - Liverpool, Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his Department's paper entitled Proposal for the future of Liverpool Edge Hill and Liverpool Wavertree jobcentres of January 2017, based on the addresses of claimants registered at the (a) Wavertree and (b) Edge Hill jobcentre, what the (i) minimum and (ii) maximum number of buses such claimants would have to take to get to the jobcentre in (A) Toxteth and (B) Huyton.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The Department has not undertaken an assessment of the number of buses to Toxteth and Huyton Jobcentres based on claimants residential addresses. This is because the proposals are to relocate Liverpool Edge Hill and Liverpool Wavertree Jobcentres to High Park House Jobcentre. Furthermore, it would not be possible to compare all claimants’ residential addresses with all potential bus timetables and routes.
It is also important to remember that not all claimants will start their journey to the Jobcentre from their home.
As Liverpool Wavertree and Liverpool Edge Hill Jobcentres have higher travel times by public transport to High Park House than to Toxteth Jobcentre, we have opened this proposal up to public consultation. We are seeking views on this proposal, including the impact on travel for individuals.
Asked by: Luciana Berger (Liberal Democrat - Liverpool, Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his Department's paper entitled Proposal for the future of Liverpool Edge Hill and Liverpool Wavertree jobcentres, of January 2017, how the travelling distances between the jobcentre offices that are proposed for closure and the new offices have been measured.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Distances and journey times have been calculated using a number of sources including AA route mapping, Google Maps, local public transport routes and local information provided by DWP colleagues.