§ Mr. RoyTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions he has had concerning the introduction of Jobcentre Plus to Scotland. [160271]
§ Mr. BrowneThe administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of the Jobcentre Plus, David Anderson. He will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from David Anderson to Mr. Roy, dated 25 March 2004:
As Jobcentre Plus is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question concerning what discussions have taken place concerning the introduction of Jobcentre Plus to Scotland. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.1027WJobcentre Plus came into existence as a national organisation at the beginning of April 2002. The Benefits Agency and Employment Service ceased to exist at the same time. The new service is being rolled out across England, Wales and Scotland on a district by district basis. Nearly 400 integrated Jobcentre Plus offices are now operating across the country, 33 of which are in Scotland. Integrating the whole of the former Employment Service and Benefits Agency's services for people of working age and creating the national network of Jobcentre Plus offices will not be completed until 2006.During 2002–2003, 23 offices were successfully introduced across Grampian, Moray, Orkney and Shetland District and Renfrewshire, Inverclyde, Argyll and Bute District. Implementation is ongoing in Glasgow, Lothian and Borders and Tayside Districts. Rollout planning schedules are at an advanced stage for the remaining Districts; Ayrshire Dumfries and Galloway, Edinburgh, Fife, Forth Valley and Dunbartonshire Highlands and Western Isles and Lanarkshire. Our aim is to complete rollout of Jobcentre Plus throughout Scotland by 2006.As each district starts to plan for the introduction of the new integrated Jobcentre Plus, service delivery arrangements are shared with local stakeholders, MPs and others. The service delivery arrangements are shared at the initial proposal stage, amended to take account of comments received where appropriate, then shared again when approval for the plans has been given. This is an integral part of the planning process for the introduction of the Jobcentre Plus service across England, Wales and Scotland.District Managers are provided with a list of suggested stakeholders for this initial planning stage. These include; local MPs/MEPs/MSPs/Members of the National Assembly of Wales, Local Authorities, programme providers/service delivery partners, employers, Citizens Advice Bureaux, and welfare rights organisations. This list is not exhaustive and each District Manager may identify their own local stakeholders.As part of the consultation process District Managers may also canvass the opinions of their customers and any comments they provide will be used as part of the planning process. We also take account of views expressed by stakeholders representing groups such as unemployed workers and pensioners. Any concerns or issues raised by these groups as a result of the consultation process will be addressed at district level and are fed in to each district's planning before the final decision is made for roll out of Jobcentre Plus in that district.Jobcentre Plus managers at all levels maintain close contact with many local and national organisations representing our client base. This enables continuous feedback concerning the services that we provide before, during and after the roll out of the new Jobcentre Plus services.