4Impact on Jobcentre Plus users and staff
Consultations and the ministerial criteria
26.When announcing some of the proposed closures of Jobcentres, the Government also launched consultations to hear about how it would affect users, communities and staff of that Jobcentre. The Minister explained to us how he had selected whether or not to consult on a particular Jobcentre:
There is this thing called ministerial criteria, which is a measure that we have of what we think is a reasonable distance if you are moving facility, a Jobcentre, what is the reasonable distance between the one and the other to ask people to be able to change where they use without having a public consultation.51
27.The consultation documents clarified that the DWP considered it to be “a reasonable expectation that claimants travel to an office within three miles or 20 minutes by public transport of their existing jobcentre”.52 It confirmed that it had launched a consultation if the proposed “location for service delivery” of a closed Jobcentre breached either of these criteria (i.e. if people had been told to use Jobcentre more than three miles or 20 minutes away from their old one).53 The Department stated that this would “ensure that we take into account the impact of any closure before we make a final decision”.54
28.In the initial round of office closures in Glasgow, the Department conceded that three of the eight closures would result in new Jobcentres being more than three miles or 20 minutes away from the current Jobcentre. On 19 December 2016, the DWP therefore launched consultations on Bridgeton, Castlemilk and Maryhill jobcentres, but not on the reorganisation more widely.55 These consultations closed on 31 December. On 30 and 31 January, the Department announced the wider closures for the whole of the UK, and launched consultations on the proposed closure of 27 Jobcentres following the same criteria.56 These consultations closed on 28 February 2017.
29.Carla McCormack, Poverty Alliance, told us that the consultation process had been “massively unsatisfactory”. She explained that:
We do not feel there has been anywhere near enough effort to reach out to claimants in those Jobcentres and get their views. As well as an equality impact assessment, we would really like to see any decisions poverty-proofed to make sure that they are not impacting further on people in poverty.57
Frank Mosson, Citizens Advice, agreed. He told us that the Department had organised face-to-face consultations at the last minute and did not gather a full range of views before publishing its proposals:
There was absolutely no consultation and we had no idea that this was happening until we read it in the media. Afterwards, we were informed and we were invited to an event in the east but unfortunately we only had three days’ notice. We were able to attend but other stakeholder organisations obviously could not because only four other organisations could manage along on three days’ notice, which is not a lot of time.58
30.We asked the Minister if he felt that he had consulted widely enough. At the time the majority of consultations were open and he assured us that:
In fact there are some cases including in Scotland where something is just within those criteria but we thought because it is quite borderline and there is some other consideration, that it is the right thing to do to consult and we are doing that in those cases as well.59
31.Given that the closure of any local Jobcentre will have an impact on all users, staff and the surrounding community, we are disappointed that the Minister has only sought the views of the public on a select few number of proposed closures which breach arbitrary ‘ministerial criteria’. We recommend that the Government runs a proper consultation on the changes to the Jobcentre network as a whole, not just those individual Jobcentres which breach the ministerial criteria.
Online services replacing face-to-face contact
32.In December 2016, the Minister justified the extent of the closures of Jobcentres in Glasgow by stating that the claimant count had “dropped across the city” as well as a reduction in “the use of some of the smaller jobcentres”.60 At a later debate, in January 2017, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Welfare Delivery, Caroline Nokes, stated that the way claimants were engaging with Jobcentres was “changing in response to significant societal trends” and that the Department was continuing to “make the most of the opportunity technology brings and more services are moving online, reflecting that increase in digital capability and accessibility”.61 She went on to state that eight out of 10 claims for Jobseekers Allowance were now made using “digital channels” and that approximately 90 per cent of universal credit claims were made online.62
33.Frank Mosson, from Citizens Advice Scotland, told us about his concern that many of the services offered online could not replace face-to-face services and in particular that the Government had not taken into account the low level online access and computer literacy in areas of the city. He told us that:
The Glasgow [Citizens Advice] Bureaux participated in a study in 2013: 950 people had a questionnaire and, of that, 70 per cent of the benefit claimants said that they needed help online. They would need help to complete a form.63
Citizens Advice Scotland had previously stated that many users of Jobcentres were not “able to use the internet as an alternative way to access services” and so will be affected by the closure of a physical office.64 The Minister acknowledged that there were Jobcentre users who needed assistance when using computers. He told us that those users could find assistance at their local Jobcentre:
It is one of the reasons we have invested in our Jobcentres having terminals. […] People can also bring in their own devices, and we have people who can help guide the claimant through what they need to do.65
We cannot help but conclude that is evidence for keeping Jobcentres open.
34.In August 2016, the Office for National Statistics reported that household internet access in Scotland was 87 per cent compared to 89 per cent across the whole of Great Britain. Although being only slightly behind the British average, this report did include the use of smartphones when considering access to the internet. We heard evidence that areas of Glasgow had relatively low IT and internet skills among those needing to use the online services.66 Stewart Malcolm McDonald MP, the MP for Glasgow South, argued that Glasgow was particularly affected by “digital exclusion” and that this was preventing people from using online Government services because 35 per cent of households in Glasgow South had no access to the internet.67
Vulnerable users of Jobcentres
35.Once claimants have started their application for Job Seekers Allowance online, they must attend an interview or meeting at their local Jobcentre.68 The Minister told us that those required to attend most regularly were “people who by definition on Job Seekers Allowance are available and ready to start work”.69 However, we received evidence that Jobcentre closures would have a disproportionate impact on the more vulnerable members of society. For example, Reverend Dr Johnstone, Church of Scotland, described the Jobcentre closures as a “moral issue”. He gave the following example:
I have a particular person who has spoken to me about her concern that if she has to go to a local Jobcentre, it means that it will take her an hour to get there and an hour to get back. She will have to drop off her three year-old at nursery before she goes. She will need to get to the Jobcentre. If she misses one bus she could be 35 or 40 minutes before the next one comes along. It will then take her an hour to get there, be at the Jobcentre, and then back.70
Pauline Edmiston, vice convener of the Church and Society Council at the Church of Scotland summarised that:
These proposals will only make things harder. They are simply not acceptable. If the DWP has to make savings then that should not be about punishing the poorest in our society even more.71
36.Citizens Advice Scotland agreed. Frank Mosson told us that “if you have a vulnerable client with maybe mental health issues or anxiety issues” it is important for them “to be able to go round to the Jobcentre”.72 Citizens Advice has previously stated that “vulnerable people rely on the services that local Jobcentres provide” and that “many of those people are on very low incomes and simply cannot afford to travel long distances”.73
37.We have reported on the evidence from the Department that more of its services are available online so there is less demand for face-to-face meetings. Again, Citizens Advice Scotland argued that this discriminated against the poorest and more vulnerable users of the centres as those who had either a “lack of access or lack of skills” when it came to IT, “tend to be among the most deprived, and the most financially vulnerable. They rely on access to the face-to-face support that jobcentres provide”.74
38.When commenting on the initial closures in Glasgow, Poverty Alliance expressed “disappointment and frustration”:
The Jobcentres targeted for closure represent some of the city’s highest areas with deprivation, and making it more difficult for people in these areas to access social security benefits and employment support will just push them further into poverty.75
Carla McCormack concluded that Poverty Alliance would like to see an equality impact assessment for the policy. This is an assessment that the Government publishes prior to implementing a policy, which outlines the policy’s impact on equality.76 Stewart Malcolm McDonald MP stated that “I do not know if they will publish the equality impact assessment at any point”.77 The Minister confirmed that the Department would not be publishing any equality impact assessments until after the consultation period had closed.78
39.The Government has argued that the needs of users has been factored into the decision about Jobcentre closures. In answer to a question on the planned closures in Glasgow, Rt Hon David Lidington MP (standing in for the Prime Minister at Prime Minister’s Questions), said that:
The key element in any such decision that a Department has to make is not the raw number of offices there should be but how accessible the offices and the services they provide continue to be for the people who need to use them. I am absolutely confident that that criterion is at the heart of my right hon. Friend’s [the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions] thinking in planning for the future of offices in Scotland and everywhere else in the United Kingdom.79
When giving evidence to us, the Minister, Damian Hinds MP, did acknowledge that, when it came to requiring people to attend Jobcentres for face-to-face contact, some people needed additional support including those with “certain disabilities, people with mental health barriers and others”.80 He conceded that there was “more that can be done working with partner organisations”.81
40.We are particularly concerned that the Department may not have considered the needs of the most vulnerable members of society who rely on the facilities provided by Jobcentres. We recommend that the Government publishes equality impact assessments for each of the proposed closures before any firm decision is made. The Government should make use of the consultation responses when preparing these assessments.
Sanctions
41.People are generally required to attend meetings and interviews with a work coach at their local Jobcentre in order to continue receiving welfare payments. The Government website states that, if they fail to attend (or are late to a meeting), claimants may be sanctioned. This means that benefits payments will “be stopped for between four weeks and 156 weeks (three years)”.82
42.We heard evidence that the closures of Jobcentres would make it harder for people to attend meetings and may mean that more appointments are missed. We heard that this could lead to an increase in the number of people being sanctioned. For example, Poverty Alliance said that sanctions had “made accessing social security almost impossible for many people, particularly young people” because “applying for benefits is already a difficult and daunting process for many, and this is yet another hurdle for people to tackle”.83 Frank Mosson, manager of the Glasgow-Bridgeton Citizens Advice Bureau agreed and gave an example:
We have one client who said, “I would have to get two buses to Shettleston, which might mean that I was late to an appointment. I would be worried about sanctions”.84
43.Ian Pope, PCS Union, was clear that he expected the closure of Jobcentres in Glasgow to increase the number of people being sanctioned, stating that “there is no doubt […] this will increase the likelihood of people being late for appointments at the new Jobcentre”.85 The Director of Poverty Alliance, Peter Kelly argued that the Government should reconsider sanctions for lateness:
We know that applying for benefits is already a difficult and daunting process for many, and this is yet another hurdle for people to tackle. If this is really not about reducing benefit take up by making it harder for people to apply, then the DWP should stop sanctioning people for lateness and build more flexibility into appointment times.86
44.The Church of Scotland agreed that “for many people getting to their local Jobcentre is already very challenging” and that the closures would lead to more sanctions.87 It called on the UK Government to abandon the plans to close the Jobcentres in Glasgow, claiming that it would affect more than 74,000 people and that:
For some of those affected, the plans could add an additional six miles onto the journey to sign-on and an additional one and a half hours to get there and back by bus.88
45.When we asked the Minister if he expected the closure of Jobcentres to affect the number of people being sanctioned, he was optimistic:
The number of sanctions across Great Britain has fallen quite substantially, so in the most recent complete 12-month period it is 55 per cent down across Great Britain.89
He concluded that the DWP did “not anticipate sanctions arising from these Jobcentre changes”.90
46.The Minister’s evidence that the number of sanctions would not rise as a result of the closures of Jobcentres throughout the UK does not correspond with the bulk of the evidence that we have received, in particular that the travel times between Jobcentres may be longer than estimated by the Department. We are concerned that, in the shorter-term, claimants who have been forced to change Jobcentres may find themselves late for—or missing—appointments due to that change in arrangements. We recommend that the Department sets out what mitigation will be in place for Jobcentre users who have had to change Jobcentres and for how long in order to reassure service users.
Impact on staff
47.In December, when the Department made its initial announcement regarding Glasgow Jobcentre closures, the Minister of State (Damian Hinds MP) was clear that there were “no planned job losses for the Jobcentre network in the city”.91 This promise did not, however, extend to the later announcement affecting the whole of the UK—although the DWP did say that “the vast majority of staff will have the option to relocate or offered alternative roles”.92 The DWP official, Karen Gosden, stated that “we do not expect there to be any job losses” while her colleague Susan Parks told us the Department actually expected to be “increasing our number of colleagues in Jobcentres rather than reducing”.93&94
48.Despite that expectation, in a Parliamentary written answer the Minister admitted that in cases where “relocation and redeployment may be more difficult […] redundancies may be required”.95 We noted that it was quite possible for the Department to increase its headcount in some offices while enforcing redundancies in others. The Minister went on to state in that written answer that:
It is not until this period of consultation is concluded that we will know exactly how many people may leave the Department as a result of these changes. Our current estimate is that this may be approximately 750 people, less than one per cent of the overall workforce.96
49.The PCS Union has reportedly stated that the policy would actually put “thousands of staff jobs at risk”.97 For this reason, the union has positioned itself against the nationwide announcement of Jobcentre closures:
We have pledged to oppose plans announced today to close more than one in 10 Jobcentres. The proposals put thousands of jobs at risk and would mean unemployed people having to travel further to get help getting back to work.98
Commenting specifically on the possibility of redundancies, Ian Pope, who sits on the DWP Group Executive Committee at the PCS Union, told us the union was particularly concerned for its members who work in rural and remote areas where relocation was less likely to be a viable option for Jobcentre workers. He told us that the PCS was aware of at least “one instance in Scotland with the announcement the other week in Cumnock, where 89 staff could be facing redundancy, because there are no redeployment opportunities in Ayrshire for them”.99 More generally, the PCS Union has stated that “redeployment is likely to be more difficult” in some Jobcentre locations and that was likely to lead to forced redundancies:
DWP has also acknowledged that there may be sites where exits are required, and potentially redundancies. PCS has pressed the Department for a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies, but the Department is not willing to give such a guarantee, however the Department is committed to taking all practical and reasonable steps to avoid compulsory redundancies.100
50.We asked the Department what support was being offered to staff. Karen Gosden explained that there were no relocation or redundancy packages as such because no final decision had been made about Jobcentre closures. She went on to explain, however, the support that the Department would offer those facing redundancy:
Every effort will be made, as we always do within DWP, to either move somebody entirely, with their work, to a new office. If that is not possible, we will then look for other relocation opportunities within the whole of DWP. If that is not possible, we then look if there are opportunities within other Government Departments.101
51.While we understand that the Government has not yet published the result of its consultations, it is not acceptable that staff working in Jobcentres throughout the UK remain in the dark about whether or not their jobs are secure. We note the Department’s prediction that the number of people employed in Jobcentres will rise in the future, but we are disappointed that this may be at the same time as a programme of redundancies as a result of this policy. Now that all consultations are closed, we recommend that the Department publishes a clear statement about what expectations will be put on staff in terms of ability to relocate so that staff have clarity and more certainty about their future by the end of April. We also recommend that the Government works closely with unions and staff directly to provide adequate opportunities for retraining and support with relocation to those staff being asked to change roles or location as a result of this policy.
51 Q133
52 Department for Work and Pensions Consultation, ‘Proposal for the future of Bridgeton, Castlemilk and Maryhill Jobcentres’ [accessed 2 February 2017]
53 Department for Work and Pensions Consultation, ‘Proposal for the future of Bridgeton, Castlemilk and Maryhill jobcentres’ [accessed 2 February 2017]
54 Department for Work and Pensions Consultation, ‘Proposal for the future of Bridgeton, Castlemilk and Maryhill jobcentres’ [accessed 2 February 2017]
55 Department for Work and Pensions Consultation, ‘Proposal for the future of Bridgeton, Castlemilk and Maryhill jobcentres’ [accessed 2 February 2017]
56 Department for Work and Pensions, ‘Jobcentre Consultations’, [accessed 2 February 2017]
57 Q104
58 Q105
59 Q133
60 House of Commons, ‘Westminster Hall Debate: 20 December 2016: Jobcentre Closures: Glasgow’, [accessed 2 February 2017]
61 House of Commons, ‘Westminster Hall Debate: 18 January 2017: DWP Estate’, [accessed 2 February 2017]
62 House of Commons, ‘Westminster Hall Debate: 18 January 2017: DWP Estate’, [accessed 2 February 2017]
63 Q81
64 Citizens Advice Scotland, ‘Glasgow Jobcentre closures will ‘hit the most deprived people’, [accessed 4 April 2017]
65 Q124
66 For example: OFCOM, ‘Scotland becomes a ‘smartphone society’ [accessed 6 April 2017]
67 Q17
68 Department of Work and Pensions, ‘Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA): How to claim’ [accessed 2 January 2017]
69 Q89
70 Q62
71 Church of Scotland, ‘Church condemns plans to close Job Centres’, [accessed 2 February 2017]
72 Q58
73 Citizens Advice Scotland, ‘CAS response to latest Jobcentre closures’, [accessed 2 February 2017]
74 Citizens Advice Scotland, ‘Glasgow Jobcentre closures will ‘hit the most deprived people’, [accessed 6 April 2017]
75 Poverty Alliance, ‘Glasgow Jobcentre Closures—another hurdle for jobseekers’, [accessed 2 February 2017]
76 House of Commons Library, ‘The Public Sector Equality Duty and Equality Impact Assessments’, [accessed 6 April 2017]
77 Q54
78 Q133
79 House of Commons, ‘Questions to the Prime Minister: 7 December 2016’, [accessed 2 February 2017]
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81 Q153
82 Department for Work and Pensions, ‘What must I do to keep my benefit payment?’, [accessed 2 January 2017]
83 Poverty Alliance, ‘Glasgow Jobcentre Closures—another hurdle for jobseekers’, [accessed 6 April 2017]
84 Q70
85 Q42
86 Poverty Alliance, ‘Glasgow Jobcentre Closures—another hurdle for jobseekers’, [accessed 6 April 2017]
87 Church of Scotland, ‘Church condemns plans to close Job Centres’, [accessed 2 January 2017]
88 Church of Scotland, ‘Church condemns plans to close Job Centres’, [accessed 2 January 2017]
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90 Q163
91 House of Commons, ‘Westminster Hall Debate: 20 December 2016: Jobcentre Closures: Glasgow’, [accessed 2 February 2017]
92 Department for Work and Pensions, ‘New streamlined Jobcentre Plus network with more support for jobseekers’ [accessed 6 April 2017]
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94 Q167
95 House of Commons, ‘Department for Work and Pensions: Buildings: Written question—62394’, [accessed 6 April 2017]
96 House of Commons, ‘Department for Work and Pensions: Buildings: Written question—62394’, [accessed 6 April 2017]
97 ITV News, ‘Thousands of jobs at risk in Job Centre closures plan’, [accessed 2 February 2017]
98 PCS Union, ‘We will oppose jobcentre cuts’, [accessed 2 February 2017]
99 Q44
100 PCS Union, ‘Office Closure Proposals Announcement’, [accessed 2 February 2017]
101 Q169
20 April 2017