Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made an assessment of the adequacy of the capacity of Jobcentre Plus to support claimants in South East Cornwall constituency.

The Government has set a long-term ambition to achieve an 80% employment rate, building on our plan for growth. The Get Britain Working White Paper sets out the fundamental reforms needed to realise our ambitions, including the vision to reform Jobcentres - to a new Jobs and Careers Service to meet the needs of local labour markets, people and employers.

Across Great Britain, the new service will enable everyone to access support to find good, meaningful work, and support to help them to progress in work, including through an enhanced focus on skills and careers. Central to the new service will be our use of technology, enabling us to reinvest time in supporting people more effectively.

We are starting a test and learn approach to develop the new service. We are currently running two large-scale tests testing reducing the frequency of engagement with customers and the mode of mandatory engagement for Universal Credit claimants that are looking for work or are in lower paid jobs. These will help us to better understand what will work best for the individual.  

Residents of Southeast Cornwall are served by Liskeard, Launceston and Devonport Job Centres who are responsible for ensuring residents of Southeast Cornwall can access the Jobcentre offer and a wide range of programmes with partner organisations.

This includes the Work Well Pilot, delivering a range of tailored work and health support, the YEP! Programme (SPF), the People Hub working with people who are unemployed or under employed with a range of training and pre-employability help and the Restart Programme.

Area specific needs are met by a range of Jobcentre and partner bespoke offers, which includes Disability Employer Advisor outreach in GP surgeries, working with refugees in Torpoint and Saltash, and the IPS programme delivering support to those with addiction and Mental Health issues.

Recent Sector Based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs) have assisted residents of Southeast Cornwall into security, retail and care work.