Thousands of people on Universal Credit are warned as 26 JobCentres are closed – check if yours is on the list
- DWP said the closures are due to the temporary sites no longer being required
Thousands of people on Universal Credit are warned as The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) announces another sweep of JobCentre closures.
DWP is closing 26 of the centres to shrink its high street presence but insist this will not reduce its level of service.
The closures will only affect JobCentres which were set up temporarily during the pandemic to help ensure social distancing guidelines were followed.
The announcement comes as 20 closures were announced in February this year, followed by 19 in May, and a further 36 in June.
JobCentres are there to assist those on Universal Credit to find and get back into work. A full-list of the next 26 to close can be found below.
Thousands of people on Universal Credit are warned as The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) announces another sweep of JobCentre closures.
The DWP said the closures are due to the temporary sites no longer being required.
A spokesperson for the department told The Sun : ‘We no longer need the temporary space we acquired during the pandemic to accommodate social distancing.
‘The closing of these temporary sites will not reduce our levels of service, or access to face-to-face appointments.
‘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.’
The DWP currently operates 639 permanent JobCentres where those claiming benefits and Universal Credit can get help and support.
Ten ‘poorer quality’ JobCentres were closed last year, with many of them merged, with the aim of offering customers a better service.
Full list of 26 JobCentres set to close:
Barnsley
Basildon
Bedford
Blackburn
Bracknell
Exeter
Falkirk
Harlow
Hounslow (Additional space only)
Huddersfield
Kingston
Leeds
Leeds
London Bromley
London Croydon Borough
London Edmonton (Enfield)
London Hammersmith
London Rushey Green (Lewisham)
London Walthamstow
Newport
Oldham
Ramsgate
Reading
Rhyl
Scunthorpe
Southampton
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