§ 78. Mr. BurtTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement about the range of facilities available at jobcentres.
§ Mr. LeeJobcentres offer a wide range of facilities which are mainly designed to support the employment service key responsibilities of helping unemployed people back to work and providing a gateway to the Government's employment, training and enterprise programme.
Jobcentres have two main avenues of help to get people back to work. They provide facilities which are available to everyone for display of vacancies and submissions to jobs. They also undertake specialist measures designed to help longer-term unemployed and disadvantaged people. These include jobclubs, restart courses, the restart counselling programme, a range of services to help the disabled, and particular assistance to inner city residents. Jobcentres are usually the first point of contact for most inquiries about Government employment provisions. The list of employment, training and business help programmes gives some indication of the range of facilities available.
The jobcentre "gateway" role extends beyond the schemes and services provided by the Employment 154W Department group. A key function of staff is to provide information and to direct inquirer to appropriate "external" organisations and agencies, for example citizens advice bureaux, local enterprise agencies and adult literacy centres.
Jobcentres also have display facilities for self-help material, for example leaflets, pamphlets and reference books, giving details of the services available.