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Council expresses concerns
over Job Centre closures
LIVERPOOL City Council has written to
the Government to express concern over the closure of three Job Centres and
calling for it to reconsider. Earlier this week, the Department for Work and
Pensions announced that centres in Norris Green, Edge Hill and Wavertree are to
close as part of a nationwide programme; despite the City having 1 of the
highest unemployment rates in the country.
Councillor Lana Orr, Cabinet member for employment and skills, said:-
"There is no doubt that the closures will cause greater hardship for our poorest
residents who use these centres. This means that people who currently walk to a
Job Centre will have to take 2 buses; money they can ill afford when they are
already struggling to make ends meet. It is the Government which insists that
people come to Job Centres for appointments, and threatens them with benefit
sanctions if they don't. By making them travel further; in some cases 2 bus
rides; it put them at greater risk of being late to their appointment and
therefore of being penalised. Some of these people are living on just ₤73.10 a
week and can't afford to pay for broadband at home. They need the professional
support offered by staff to fill in their applications. The closure of these
centres means that residents in most of North Liverpool, where claimant rates
are highest, will have no Job Centre. How can that be right? These decisions are
being made by Whitehall officials based on demographics, rental cost and
accommodation and not on the basis of need. The DWP need to be thinking
creatively and innovatively about this, as we have done with the move of the
Williamson Square Centre into St Johns Market. We have got some ideas around
co-locating them with other Council Services and community buildings. This would
deliver savings, link people up with other support services and ensure their
employment and training opportunities aren't damaged. It is just another
obstacle hindering people's chances of getting into work and the savings made
could well be outweighed by an increase in the benefits bill. It is an ill
thought through plan that will hit the most vulnerable in the City."
This is the text of a letter sent to Secretary of State for Work and Rensions,
David Gauke:- "Dear Mr Gauke, We are writing to raise Liverpool City
Council's concerns regarding proposals to reduce the provision of Job Centres in
the City. Based upon reports released in the media, it would appear that there
are 78 Job Centre sites affected nationally and that more than 10% of those
sites are located in Liverpool and the wider Liverpool City Region. In our view,
this targeting of closures on a sub region where unemployment remains high
requires clearer clarification and explanation, and we would be grateful if you
could provide the rationale outlining how this decision has been reached. We
also note that the closure of local Job Centres will have a detrimental impact
upon those reliant on Job Centre support to find work. For people on extremely
low incomes, the extra cost of travelling to more distant Job Centres will be
prohibitive and, whilst we appreciate many customers may use online services,
the very poorest in our communities continue to suffer from digital exclusion.
We would be grateful therefore to see copies of the relevant Equalities Impact
Assessment which has been used to underpin this decision. We would also be
grateful to understand what steps you are taking to mitigate the impact this
decision will have on service users in order to ensure they can continue to get
the help and support they require. We would also be grateful to understand what
analysis has been carried out on the impact this withdrawal of locally
accessible services will have on claimants' ability to get work. According to
newspaper reports, the Department for Work and Pensions expects the change to
deliver national savings of ?180 million per annum. The same saving could be
produced by getting about another 9000 families into work; that's less than 200
families for each facility scheduled for closure. The Council and Job Centre
Plus have already done some excellent joint work in delivering a new combined
Job Centre and One Stop Shop within St Johns. We believe that this demonstrates
models do exist whereby existing Job Centre services can be kept close to the
communities they serve. We welcome the ongoing talks locally about further
co-location of services and would ask for your support at a national level in
delivering a positive outcome for local residents and communities from these
discussions. We look forward to your reply. Yours sincerely, Joe Anderson, Mayor
of Liverpool, Cllr Lana Orr, Cabinet member for employment and skills"
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