§ 35. Mr. Rathboneasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is his latest assessment of the effective rôle of jobcentres, in comparison to employment officers where appropriate; what the cost effectiveness of jobcentres is now considered to be; and how these assessments will influence future plans to expand the national jobcentre network.
§ Mr. GoldingI am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that job-centres continue to show significant improvements in performance compared with employment offices. For example, between April-June 1973 and April-June 1977 it is estimated that relatively 39 per cent. more job seekers were placed and 22 per cent. more vacancies notified.
In the quarter ending September 1976 the cost of a placing by a jobcentre was 182W about 5 per cent. less than in other offices offering the same range of service.
These assessments and the continuing evaluations of performance will be taken into account in planning the future development of the jobcentre programme.