§ Mr. MacdonaldTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give the number and location of Employment Services offices closed and the number of jobs lost or transferred as a result of agency work transferring from Scotland to the rest of the United Kingdom over the past five years; and if he will list the number and location of offices opened and jobs gained in Scotland as a result of agency work transferring to Scotland from the rest of the United Kingdom over the same period. [20045]
§ Miss WiddecombeResponsibility for the subject of the question has been. delegated to the Employment Service agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from M. E. G. Fogden to Mr. Calum Macdonald, dated 24 April 1995:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about the transfer, loss or gain of jobs and opening or closure of Employment Service offices in Scotland due to the movement of agency work throughout the United Kingdom.There has been no transfer of Employment Services (ES) agency work into to or out of Scotland.The network of local offices nationally and in Scotland was reviewed in 1990 as part of the ES's integration programme, which seeks to merge Jobcentres and Benefit Offices into a single location where possible.The location of the ES Jobcentres is decided on the basis of how the best possible service can be provided to clients taking economic, demographic and geographic factors such as travel to work patterns into account.I hope this is helpful.