§ The Minister for Work (Mr. Nicholas Brown)The Government are committed to rolling out the new Jobcentre Plus service between now and 2006. By spring 2003 we expect to have around a quarter of the network of offices providing the new Jobcentre Plus services.
Despite having record levels of employment, we cannot afford to be complacent about our labour market performance, or about working with our partners to deliver opportunities to a wider group of people than ever before. I am pleased therefore to be able to provide the House with further details of our plans to introduce the Jobcentre Plus service across Great Britain between now and March 2006.
Early planning for the next three years of the work programme is going well and 1 am now able to provide an indicative list of the remaining districts detailing in which financial year we expect those sites to be transformed.
There is still much to do to develop the local service delivery plans for each district and to prepare the sites for final delivery of the new services. We must be satisfied that a new office provides an environment in which the remodelled service will work and which is safe for staff and customers.
For these remaining sites, planning for delivery of the new services will be a locally driven process. As local plans begin to emerge, district managers will be involving local MPs and other local partners. District managers will be writing to local stakeholders to invite comments and seek views. A key priority for district managers is to ensure that the new services are developed and tailored to meet the needs of the community they serve.
The following tables indicate when Jobcentre Plus plans to introduce the new Jobcentre Plus service into the remaining Jobcentre Plus districts. As detailed planning work is undertaken at district level, changes may be made to this schedule.
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2003–04 (27 districts) District Region/Country Norfolk*[...] East England Lothian and Borders*[...] Scotland Cheshire and Warrington* North West Halton & St. Helens* North West North East London* London Dorset*[...] South West Northumberland*[...] North East
2003–04 (27 districts) District Region/Country Sussex* South East Surrey* South East Wakefield*[...] Yorkshire & the Humber Bedfordshire East of England Glasgow Scotland Tayside Scotland Lancashire West North West Liverpool North West Cumbria North West Berkshire South East Central London London West London London Cornwall South West Tees Valley North East Cardiff & Vale Wales North West Wales & Powys Wales South Humber Yorkshire & the Humber North Yorkshire Yorkshire & the Humber Birmingham & Solihull[...] West Midlands Northamptonshire East Midlands Note:
Districts marked* are planned to introduce the new service in the first half of 2003–04.
All other districts are grouped by region/country; within each region/country the districts are listed in the planned order for roll-out.
For example, looking at the districts in Yorkshire and the Humber in the 2003–04 table above; Wakefield is planned to introduce the new service in the first half of the year followed by South Humber and finally North Yorkshire.
In districts marked [...] some work may begin in 2002–03.
Roll-out in North East London District is split between 2002–03 and 2003–04.
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2004–05 (24 districts) District Region/Country Hertfordshire East England Cambridgeshire East England Edinburgh Scotland Fife Scotland Lanarkshire Scotland Oldham and Rochdale North West Salford and Trafford North West Bolton & Bury North West Stockport and Tameside North West Wigan North West Kent South East South London London South East London London West of England South West City of Sunderland North East Eastern Valleys Wales Swansea Bay Wales Leeds Yorkshire & the Humber Hull and East Riding Yorkshire & the Humber Doncaster Yorkshire & the Humber Hereford & Worcester West Midlands Staffordshire West Midlands Greater Nottingham East Midlands North Nottinghamshire East Midlands
2005–06 (15 districts) District Region/Country Forth Valley & Dumbarton Scotland Ayrshire, Dumfries & Galloway Scotland Highlands & Western Isles Scotland North London London City & East London London Gloucestershire South West Wiltshire South West County Durham North East Wrexham & North Wales Coast Wales West Wales Wales Barnsley & Rotherham Yorkshire & the Humber Bradford Yorkshire & the Humber Dudley and Sandwell West Midlands Wolverhampton and Walsall West Midlands Lincolnshire and Rutland East Midlands