§ Mrs. Fennerasked the Secretary of State for Employment, following his statement regarding considerable cuts in the Manpower Services Commission, how many jobcentres he proposes to amalgamate and how many he proposes to close.
§ Mr. Jim LesterI am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that it has no plans at present to amalgamate or close any jobcentres as a result of expenditure cuts which have been announced. However, the future pace of the MSC's modernisation programme will be determined in the light of public expenditure reductions and I have asked the MSC to develop the programme in the most costeffective way and to avoid any extravagance, particularly in relation to the siting of jobcentres.