More than 40 DWP centres have been tipped for closure, according to a union
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More than 40 Department for Work and Pensions offices are to close putting thousands jobs at risk, the PCS union said.
Ministers have been told that the planned closures could put some 3,000 jobs at risk while the union said more than 1,100 jobs could be impacted.
Raising an urgent question about the closures, SNP work and employment spokesman Chris Stephens: "Can the minister confirm that the announcement could mean 3,000 jobs at risk of redundancy in the Department of Work and Pensions? And what measures is he going to ensure that this does not happen?"
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He also claimed the DWP was "looking to close offices in high economic deprivation areas" which was "counter-intuitive to the so-called levelling-up agenda".
Work and Pensions minister David Rutley replied: "In terms of our plans, we, as I said, have been working very closely with colleagues and with PCS over recent months.
"There are going to be around 12,000 colleagues who will be moving from one site to another in close proximity, around 28 sites involved there.
"In terms of colleagues that will be affected where there is no other strategic site nearby, there are around 1,300 colleagues that could be involved."
Mr Rutley added that the Government would "see what opportunities there are within DWP" and other departments for affected staff, and added that the change "does not impact job centres and the customer-facing interactions".
He added "This seems to be a very unusual situation. It is very disappointing that the embargo with the PCS (Public and Commercial Services Union) does not seem to have been respected.
"Clearly our staff should be the top priority at this time and I hope that colleagues will understand that I am not able to go into all the details this morning as we are currently briefing affected colleagues as we speak."
Mr Rutley also said the DWP would publish a written statement to Parliament on Friday morning notifying MPs of the planned closures.
A government spokesperson said: "As part of plans to improve the services we deliver to claimants, help more people into employment and modernise public services, DWP is moving some back office staff to better, greener offices, which will not affect any public-facing roles.
"This is not a plan to reduce our headcount – where possible, our colleagues in offices due to close are being offered opportunities to be redeployed to a nearby site, or retrained into a new role in DWP or another government department. We are making every effort to fully support our staff through this process."
According to the PCS Union, the offices earmarked for closure, with an alternative offered, are:
The offices tipped for closure without an alternative are: