§ David TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment has been made of the impact of the decision to remove screens from the pilot Pathfinder offices; and if he will make a statement. [45507]
§ Mr. Nicholas Brown[holding reply 25 March 2002]: The Pathfinder offices are delivering the new Jobcentre Plus service in a predominantly unscreened environment. In every Jobcentre Plus area there remains screened provision for dealing with those customers and transactions known to give rise to particular risk.
Fifty-six Jobcentre Plus Pathfinder offices are open and operating effectively——with positive feedback from staff and customers. For each of these offices a risk assessment has been conducted and its recommendations implemented in full. These assessments will be regularly reviewed in light of experience.