Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
What progress his Department is making on reducing poverty.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Since 2010, there are 600,000 fewer people in absolute poverty – a record low.
This Government is committed to action that delivers a lasting change to the lives of some of the most disadvantaged people in society. This requires an approach that goes beyond the safety net of the welfare system to tackle the root causes of poverty and disadvantage.
The evidence is clear that work is the best route out of poverty. Children in workless households are 5 times more likely to be in poverty than those in households where all adults work. And children in workless families are also more disadvantaged, and achieve poorer educational and employment outcomes than other children.
That is why we will continue with polices that support and encourage employment - reforming the welfare system to make work pay. And these policies are working: since 2010, there are 3 million more people in work, with 954,000 fewer workless households, and 608,000 fewer children in workless households.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he plans to announce his decision on the future of Maryhill Jobcentre.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The Department intends to confirm its plans for the DWP estate, including Maryhill Jobcentre, soon and will make a statement in due course.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he intends to maintain his Department's headquarters at Caxton House as part of the renegotiation of his Department's estate contract with Telereal Trillium.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The department is in the process of reviewing all of its estates requirements as the current contract for most of the estate comes to an end on 31 March 2018.
No decision has been made on the future of Caxton House by the department. It is important to remember that the Department has non-operational teams based in many different locations nationwide, with some large teams based in particular offices, including Caxton House.
Commercial negotiations are underway on the entirety of our estate at this time and it is not appropriate to comment further on individual sites while negotiations are in progress.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what options Telereal Trillium has to dispose of or convert the usage of Caxton House under its estate contract with his Department.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
Telereal Trillium has no options to dispose of or convert the usage of Caxton House under this contract.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he plans to publish details of the public consultation on the closure of job centres in Glasgow on his Department's website.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The current consultation process for the proposed closure of some Glasgow Jobcentres started on 7 December 2016 and now includes, as of 19 December, information on the Gov.uk website.
The consultation will close on 31 January 2017.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answers of 13 December 2016 to Questions 56723 and 56760, on what dates and in what locations Ministers of his Department have met with Ministers of the Scottish Government to discuss the job centre estate in Glasgow and Scotland.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The department meet regularly with Scottish Government officials and Ministers are routinely briefed on the outcomes of those discussions. However, commercial sensitivities have limited our ability for detailed discussions with Scottish Government on specific site proposals. In recent months DWP officials have been in discussion with local authorities, Skills Development Scotland and the Scottish Government regarding the overall estates strategy.
We remain committed to working with Scottish Government and other stakeholders to ensure effective support for unemployed people.
I held a meeting last week with the MP’s for Glasgow, Rutherglen and Hamilton West to discuss the proposals for the jobcentre estate in Glasgow.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of additional sanctions likely to be issued in enlarged jobcentres in Glasgow as a result of increased travel distances and time for users relocated from centres that have closed.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
We do not expect any of the changes to our estate to result in additional benefit entitlement sanctions. The department will support customers through the change of their Jobcentre’s location.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to met meet with his counterparts in the Scottish Government to discuss the Jobcentre Plus estate in Scotland before making any further announcements on the future of that estate.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
I will be meeting with Members of Parliament this week to discuss these announcements further.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what financial support will be made available to jobseekers in Glasgow who will face additional travel costs and time in the event of the closure of their current Jobcentre Plus office.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The department is committed to retaining an accessible Jobcentre network and continuing to serve customers in all areas of the country. 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. We tailor our service so that face-to-face contact can be focused on those who need extra support from us.
The reimbursement of travel costs is available to claimants when they are required to attend the Jobcentre for appointments other than mandatory fortnightly signing appointments. The department will advise customers on alternative Jobcentre locations, taking into account travel and access to the local labour market. In offices over three miles or 20 minutes away by public transport, we will carry out local consultation prior to implementing any changes to help inform decisions about additional provision, such as outreach services.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he had with his counterparts in the Scottish Government on the proposed closure of job centres in Glasgow before the announcement of those closures was made on 7 December 2016.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The department has been in discussion with local authorities, Skills Development Scotland and the Scottish Government for some time now regarding our estates strategy. This has included exploring co-locations in places where this makes sense for all parties. As DWP is currently renegotiating leases on its entire estate portfolio, commercial sensitivities have limited our ability for detailed discussions with Scottish Government on specific site proposals.
The announcement made on 7 December 2016 included commencement of public consultation on three proposed closures. We remain committed to working with Scottish Government to ensure effective support for unemployed people.