HC Deb 15 October 2001 vol 372 cc825-6W
22. Mrs. Anne Campbell

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to improve co-ordination between the benefits system and the support given to help people find work. [3598]

26. Mrs. Betty Williams

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to increase the amount of personal advice available to unemployed people at jobcentres. [3601]

30. Mr. Jim Cunningham

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to enable the Benefits Agency and the Employment Service to work more closely together. [3605]

Mr. Nicholas Brown

The new Jobcentre Plus service will draw together the Employment Service and the parts of the Benefits Agency which support people of working age. It will deliver a single integrated service with a clear focus on work to benefit claimants of working age and to employers.

Jobcentre Plus will come into being at the end of this financial year. At the same time, the Benefits Agency and the Employment Service will cease to exist.

To demonstrate the improved and more work-focused service we intend to offer in Jobcentre Plus, we are putting in place around 50 "pathfinder" offices throughout the country. In parallel, we are introducing work-focused interviews for all claimants of working age in 39 additional sites adjacent to the pathfinders.