Plans have been published to reform Department for Work and
Pensions (DWP) Jobcentre Plus
offices and benefit centres, in light of 20% of office space
being under-used.
The way DWP services are
delivered has changed significantly in recent years; for example
8 out of 10 claims for Jobseeker’s Allowance and 99.6% of
applicants for Universal Credit submit their claims online.
Since 2010, 2.7 million more people are in work, youth
unemployment has fallen by 366,000 and the employment rate is at
a record high.
Jobcentres and benefit centres are covered by old building
contracts which are now coming up for renewal. In the 20 years
since these contracts were signed the welfare system has
undergone large scale reform.
The DWP estate covers
around 1.5 million square metres across the country and 300,000
square metres of this is under-utilised and could be vacated.
Some smaller jobcentres will be merged with larger ones, and
others will be co-located with local government
premises. DWP will be better
able to offer a more efficient service while delivering good
value for the taxpayer, saving around £180 million a year for the
next 10 years.
The support provided to jobseekers will be further strengthened
this year as staff numbers are boosted by a recruitment drive to
hire 2,500 new work coaches.
, Minster for Employment
said:
We will always make sure that people have the support they need
to get into and progress within work, that’s why we are
recruiting 2,500 more work coaches to help those who need it
most.
The way the world works has changed rapidly in the last 20
years and the welfare state needs to keep pace. As more people
access their benefits through the internet many of our
buildings are under-used. We are concentrating our resources on
what we know best helps people into work.
The changes we’ve announced today will help ensure that the way
we deliver our services reflect the reality of today’s welfare
system.
Today’s announcements include proposals for:
- merging 78 smaller Jobcentre Plus offices in urban areas with
larger ones nearby
- co-locating around 50 Jobcentre Plus offices with local
authorities or other community services to provide joined-up
services for the local community with all services in one place
- closing 27 back office buildings around the country and
developing larger, more efficient processing sites including
opening 5 new large service centres across the country in a
phased approach starting in 2018
- retaining over 700 existing offices
- re-organising our corporate centre to make maximum use of 6
regional corporate hubs, including establishing a new office in
central Manchester
The planned changes will be made in consultation with staff
taking into account the impact on benefit claimants
and DWP staff. The
vast majority of staff will have the option to relocate or
offered alternative roles.
We announced that we would renegotiate our tenancies in
the 2015 Spending Review.
DWP currently uses
about 900 buildings around the UK – all of them leased from a
range of landlords.
The expiry of the PRIME contract provides DWP with the
opportunity to review which offices we need, leaving those that
we no longer need at commercially advantageous terms and having
the opportunity to negotiate better deals on those we want to use
in future.
The savings of around £180 million a year for the next 10 years
will be made by a combination of a smaller estate, rent set to
market levels, a new service delivery model and maximising space
usage.
Where practical, we are co-locating with local authorities in
their buildings. These arrangements bring benefits for the
department, claimants and the taxpayer. More of the services that
customers use are in one place which means that claimants have
access a greater breadth of expertise.
The most recent figures show that employment rate is at 74.5 per
cent – a joint record high; unemployment down 906,000 since 2010
as the economy has grown.
