Job centres and the Department for Work and Pensions estate
This Debate Pack briefing provides information in anticipation of the debate, entitled “Job centres and the Department for Work and Pensions estate”. This debate is sponsored by Chris Stephens MP and will take place in Westminster Hall on Thursday 20 July at 1.30pm, lasting for 90 minutes.
In March 2018, the Department for Work and Pension's (DWP) 20 year contract with Telereal Trillium to manage the DWP estate in Great Britain, including jobcentres, comes to an end. As a result, the Department is considering future locations for Jobcentre Plus and other offices in Great Britain ahead of its expiry. As part of these considerations, the DWP is looking to reduce the size of its estate by around 20%, and to increase “co-location” of Jobcentre Plus offices with other local services such as local authority benefit teams and mental health services. This 20% reduction is part of a wider plan to sell £4.5 billion worth of Government land and property by 2020/21.
In a written statement on 5 July 2017, the Employment Minister Damian Hinds set out further plans for the future of the entire DWP estate, including buildings providing jobcentre services, after the publication of the Government’s initial proposals in January.
There have been three previous Westminster Hall debates on the proposed closure of jobcentres in Glasgow, for which Debate Packs were also produced – Closure of jobcentres in Glasgow (CDP-2016-0255), Future of the DWP estate (CDP-2017-0012), and Jobcentre Plus office closures (CDP-2017-0089).