§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is the estimated capital value of jobcentre sites in the United Kingdom. [129087]
§ Ms JowellResponsibility 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 Leigh Lewis to Mr. John Bercow, dated 10 July 2000:
As the Employment Service is an executive agency, the Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question concerning the estimated value of the Jobcentre sites in the United Kingdom. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.The network of roughly 1000 Employment Service Jobcentres operates in a mixture of freehold and leasehold premises. All Jobcentres in freehold and long leasehold property are subject to a rolling programme of professional valuation. The results of this are collated annually and shown as 'Land and Buildings' in the Employment Service Annual Report and Accounts. The latest audited accounts are for the year 1998–99. These show the total value of Employment Service Land and Buildings as at 31 March 1999 to be just under £122m.
§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) what guidance he issues to Jobcentres about preventing persons not lawfully entitled to work in the United Kingdom having access to their services; and if he will make a statement; [128921]
(2) what checks Jobcentres are required to undertake (a) generally and (b) prior to reference to an employment agency in order to ensure that persons seeking employment are allowed to work in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement. [128924]
§ Ms Jowell[holding answer 4 July 2000]: Responsibility 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 Leigh Lewis to Mr. David Lidington, dated 10 July 2000:
As the Employment Service is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions about ensuring that persons seeking employment in the United Kingdom are entitled to do so.412WPermission to work in the United Kingdom is a matter for the Immigration and Nationality Directorate of the Home Office. While Jobcentres do have advice available to them on which groups of jobseekers from outside the UK are entitled to work in the UK, it would not be practical for them to undertake nationality checks given the fact that they make some 20 million job submissions annually. It is the responsibility of employers to ensure that jobseekers have permission to work.Employment Service guidance to Jobcentres states that non-EEA (European Economic Area) jobseekers are not entitled to obtain work in the UK without a work permit. It advises staff to pass inquiries to the Immigration and Nationality Directorate. Similarly, vacancies advertised via the Employment Service website carry a statement which makes clear that the vacancies are not open to non-EEA jobseekers.I hope this is helpful.