Mr. Alan WilliamsTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, pursuant to her answer of 27 June,Official Report, column 224, (1) what considerations led the chief executive of the Employment on the cost of the refurbishment of offices in Swansea; [36864]
305W(2) on what terms the Employment Service, in June, disposed of its lease on its Swansea office; what dilapidation claim has been made; who owns the office; how much of the lease was outstanding; and what rent, rates and running costs will be incurred at the new office. [36816]
§ Mr. ForthResponsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Mike Fogden to Mr. Alan Williams, dated 11 July 1996:
As the Employment Service is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your additional questions about the refurbishment and lease disposal of my office at Grove House, Swansea. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.I am sorry that part of your original question about the cost of refurbishing these premises was not answered. The refurbishment cost £208,000. The greater part of these costs was the replacement of electrical fittings as required under the Health & Safety (Design Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992.
The building is owned by Estateways PLC and we held the building on a twenty-year lease from 20 June 1986. The lease included a break clause at the end of the tenth year which we served this year. To date, no dilapidation claim has been received.
There were no additional costs incurred in moving from the building in Grove House to the integrated Jobcentre in High Street, Swansea. We had been occupying this building since June 1994 when the two separate Unemployment Benefit Offices in Swansea were integrated into the one site. The enclosed table shows the costs of the three buildings in Swansea which we used to occupy and the cost of the single integrated office. Substantial savings have been made to the cost of running the Employment Service in Swansea as a result of these moves.
I hope this is helpful.
Annual charges Rent Rates Service charge Total Swansea High Street Jobcentre 17,500 43,095 Nil 60,595 Northampton Lane 23,985.72 11,044 Nil 35,029.72 Unemployment Benefit Office (UBO)1 Orchard Street UBO1 72,912.12 21,010 2,255.16 96,177.28 Grove House Jobcentre2 42,500 19,882 1,815 64,197 Total 139,397.84 51,936 4,070.16 195,404 1 Offices vacated in June 1994. 2 Office vacated in June 1996.