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14 Apr 2003 : Column 783—continued
12 midnight
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Malcolm Wicks): I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Hendon (Mr. Dismore) on securing this debate on an important subject for his constituency. I have listened carefully to the points he and my hon. Friend the Member for Brent, North (Mr. Gardiner) made. I understand the concern of my hon. Friend the Member for Hendon to ensure that Jobcentre Plus provides a quality service to his constituents, and I am sure that we are all equally concerned that that should apply throughout the country. As a fellow London MP, I am also aware of some of the more particular circumstances that need to be taken into consideration when making changes to service delivery in the capital.
Jobcentre Plus is delivering a radical change in the way in which benefits and employment services are provided to people of working age, and I welcome my hon. Friend's support for that radical change. By 2006,
we plan to roll out a network of 1,000 fully integrated Jobcentre Plus offices. Through the development of those new, modern offices, Jobcentre Plus will provide an integrated, work-focused service to all people of working age. The introduction of work-focused interviews extends the opportunity to more people to take advantage of the help, guidance and support that we can provide to help them move into work. The new services we are also introducing for employers are helping them to fill job vacancies quickly and effectively with well prepared and motivated employees.The new Jobcentre Plus services are customer focused. The new offices enable customers to make inquiries about both their benefits and employment opportunities in the same place. Our new telephone contact centres mean that customers can make inquiries about both benefits and jobs without even having to come into one of our offices. The introduction of new technology is also enabling people to find the information they need about jobs and training via the internet and our new jobpoints. Jobpoints are not just being placed in Jobcentre Plus offices, but in other public places such as libraries, supermarkets and even, in one case, a local pub. All those developments are making it easier for our customers to take advantage of the services we provide.
That customer focus is also built into the process that Jobcentre Plus uses when converting our current network of offices to the new integrated service. During the national planning for the implementation of Jobcentre Plus, customer representatives and trade unions were consulted. My right hon. Friend the Minister for Work has also written to MPs to ensure that they are aware of the roll-out programme.
So far, 230 of the new-style offices have been successfully opened, but the change cannot be delivered nationally overnight. We have set out our plans to convert all parts of the country to the new integrated service by 2006. However, we will not open an office unless we are confident that it provides an environment in which the new Jobcentre Plus process will work and that is safe for our staff and customers. Throughout the transitional period, our old social security offices and jobcentres will work together to ensure that customers will still benefit from the excellent service we aim to offer. At the Jobcentre Plus district level, managers consult the widest possible range of people about the service they are planning to provide. Local advice and welfare groups, local authorities and MPs are essential sources of guidance in that matter.
My hon. Friend's constituents in Hendon are served by two Jobcentre Plus districts—Brent, Harrow and Hillingdon district and the North London district. The Brent, Harrow and Hillingdon district converted to the new integrated offices during 2002–03. The district began planning for the roll-out in March 2002 and wrote in June to nearly 200 local stakeholders for their opinions on the proposed roll-out of the new service. I am assured that that included, among others, local employers, social services, local MPs and local organisations such as citizens advice bureaux and Mind.
In September 2002, the district wrote again to those stakeholders advising them of the decisions made for the roll-out. The plans for the new integrated service included the closure of Burnt Oak Jobcentre, which was used by some of my hon. Friend's constituents—hence
this Adjournment debate. I am told that Burnt Oak previously provided employment advice to about 60 callers each week. Local people actually claimed their benefits and accessed the full range of employment services through one of the other local jobcentres or social security offices.The letter issued by Brent, Harrow and Hillingdon district notifying the local community, including MPs, of roll-out plans included information about the change in services at Burnt Oak. However, I agree with my hon. Friend that the fact that the office was closing could have been explained more clearly. New guidance has recently been issued to all district managers to ensure that roll-out plans are explained more clearly and explicitly in future.
I emphasise that customers who previously used Burnt Oak Jobcentre have not been abandoned and will have access to a range of alternative services. They will have access to a full range of jobsearch facilities at Mill Hill jobcentre as well as having access to the contact centre in Harrow and our internet facilities. We also intend to install a jobpoint in Burnt Oak library to help customers to search for jobs. In addition, Jobcentre Plus staff will hold regular surgeries at the local careers service.
The majority of Hendon is served by the North London Jobcentre Plus district, containing both jobcentres and social security offices. Most benefit claims are processed at the Edgware social security office. We plan to replace those offices with new integrated Jobcentre Plus offices in 2005–06. Until that time, Jobcentre Plus will continue to provide the same high level of service we expect through its current network.
I hear what my hon. Friend says about wishing that expenditure was no constraint and that a Jobcentre Plus office could be available in every community centre. He will, however, have visited a Jobcentre Plus office and
will therefore know that they are, quite properly, expensive facilities. We assume that 1,000 offices can be afforded throughout Great Britain if we are to maintain quality.The people of Hendon are being well served by Jobcentre Plus. Since 1997, unemployment has fallen by nearly a third, and long-term unemployment has fallen by more than two thirds. The new deals have also helped more than 1,300 people to move into work in my hon. Friend's constituency. We are building on the services that we offer through the introduction of the Progress2Work programme this year. That will provide more intensive support to help recovering drug misusers to move into work.
Nationally, the introduction of Jobcentre Plus is being well received by customers. In surveys we have found that eight out of 10 customers are satisfied with all elements of the new service. Jobcentre Plus performance is also improving as a result of the roll-out. The integrated offices are exceeding their share of national performance and are exceeding their job entry targets by more than 10 per cent.
Jobcentre Plus looks after more than 1,500 offices, handling more than 10,000 job vacancies and helping more than 100,000 callers every working day. Jobcentre Plus is a very large organisation providing a vital service to people of working age across the country. However, we must not forget that the service we provide is focused on helping individuals. It is employment policy with a human face, providing them with the support that they need to improve their lives. As we roll out our improved Jobcentre Plus service, we will maintain customer focus to ensure that we provide all our customers with the opportunity to benefit from our services.
I wish you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, other hon. Members in the House and officials a happy Easter.
- Adjourned accordingly at nine minutes past Twelve o'clock.
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