Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 17 July 2018 on Question 163539 on Jobcentres: Peterlee, if he will undertake a review of the Peterlee Jobcentre Physical Security Survey in relation to (a) data protection and (b) the suitability of the open plan office.

DWP does not pass comment on physical security arrangements and vulnerabilities at any individual site. I can however advise that on every site, such security arrangements, including those for the protection of data held about our customers and their business, are subject to regular review and validation. DWP has been successfully conducting the vast majority of its business with customers in an open-plan environment for many years, and that is one of the many factors that feed into the design of appropriate security control measures for each location.