Business of the House

Paul Sweeney Excerpts

Thursday 11th January 2018 Commons Chamber

[Paul Maynard]

The hon. Gentleman is, quite rightly, an assiduous campaigner on this issue, and there are numerous debates on it. I am struck by how many of my constituents also contact me with these concerns. I congratulate him on his persistence and urge him to continue with those debates on this very important issue.

[Mr Paul Sweeney (Glasgow North East) (Lab/Co-op)]

The Minister will have been made aware today of the impending closure of the jobcentre in Maryhill and Possilpark that serves half of my constituency, but he may not be aware of a freedom of information request that was made for an impact assessment of that closure. That has determined that the nearest jobcentre will be three miles aware in Springburn, and that there will be a disproportionate impact on women, ethnic minorities, and people with disabilities and caring responsibilities. Will the Minister insist that the new Minister for Employment attends this House and makes a statement on the impact that this closure will have, and on how he will mitigate it?

[Paul Maynard]

The hon. Gentleman is right to raise this matter. He will have heard me say earlier that where longer journeys times were involved, we had a full public consultation on the decision. I ask him to bear in mind what I also said to the hon. Member for Glasgow South (Stewart Malcolm McDonald), which is that I would like him to focus as much as possible on the outputs of the process, which will lead to more work coaches assisting his constituents.