§ Mr. Dubsasked the Secretary of State for Employment what representations he has received about the threatened closure of jobcentres; and how many are involved in the London area.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonThis Department has received a number of letters about the proposals the Manpower Services Commission is considering for the future development of the employment service. These proposals involve the re-organisation of the jobcentre network (with more jobcentre outlets overall) based upon the use of recent advances in technology to provide services which are designed to be more accessible to the public and better geared to local needs at a reduced cost. At this stage it is not possible to say exactly what these proposals would mean for particular parts of the country.