Three Jobcentres are to close in the North East within weeks, affecting people on benefits who need to meet with their work coach or attend Universal Credit interviews.
The Jobcentres in Bridge House, Blyth, the Metrocentre and Tavistock Place, Sunderland, will shut for good before the end of next month, as the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) decommissions Jobcentres which were set up temporarily during the pandemic to help ensure social distancing guidelines were followed.
The three in our region are among 20 which the DWP has said is the first tranche of closures announced, with the rest of the temporary Jobcentres to close throughout 2023 and 2024.
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The GMB Union had initially warned the closures would put 50 jobs at risk, but the Government has said that no staff will be made redundant, as they will all move back to work at Jobcentres nearby.
However Eamon O’Hearn, GMB national officer, said the closures undermined the Government rhetoric about growing the labour force. "Closures will undoubtedly impact on services and represent a screeching U-turn on the original programme to extend the reach of DWP into communities," he said.
The DWP said closures will not reduce levels of service or access to face-to-face appointments. A spokesperson said that the additional Jobcentres were temporary in response to the specific demands of the pandemic and it was important to strike the right balance between providing essential services for claimants and delivering value for money for the taxpayer.
The Government opened nearly 200 temporary sites to help ensure social distancing guidelines were followed during the pandemic, with some opening less than a year ago.
The site in Blyth was opened in November 2021, Metrocentre in April 2021 and Sunderland, inside Sunderland Software Centre, in April 2022. Sites were also opened in North Shields and Peterlee, as well as Darlington and Middlesbrough.
A DWP spokesperson said: "“We no longer need the temporary space we acquired during the pandemic due to social distancing. To continue providing our essential employment support and other services in a way that is cost efficient for the taxpayer, we are phasing out these temporarily leased sites and our staff and all customer services will return to the nearby established Jobcentre."
The DWP operates 639 permanent Jobcentres, which are primarily to support those claiming Universal Credit or other legacy benefits. All new Universal Credit claimants have to visit a Jobcentre to be assigned a work coach and a dedicated central case manager. The DWP spokesperson said: "Customers will return to being served by their established Jobcentre and there will be no reduction in the number of work coaches serving customers as a result."
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