Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the cost was of maintaining the Jobcentre Plus estate in 2013-14.

The Department for Work and Pensions occupies the majority of its estate under a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) known as the PRIME Contract. This is in place until 31st March 2018.

Under this PFI, which was set up in 1998, the Department leases back fully serviced accommodation from its private sector partner Telereal Trillium (TT). The Department pays an inclusive unitary price for the space occupied and this includes the cost for maintenance plus all other Facilities Management services, undertaken by TT. The unitary price cannot be broken down into individual elements; however the total cost of running the Job Centre estate for 2013/14 was £389m.