Job hub review bid

Government plans to shut the Jobcentre Plus office in Cambuslang must be reviewed according to the Scottish Affairs Committee.

The committee say the proposal to close Cambuslang, and seven other centres in and around Glasgow, demonstrates a “lack of strategic thinking,” and the new proposals “would not provide an adequate service.”

The Department of Work and Pensions announced the planned closures last year.

They say Glasgow has a greater density of smaller offices, compared to other large towns and cities in Scotland.

The expiration of the 20year PFI contract, under which Jobcentre Plus premises were leased, provided an opportunity for a comprehensive review of how the service could be modernised.

But the committee say the UK Government “has to show more ambition and dexterity to create an effective job centre network.”

Chair of the committee, Pete Wishart MP, said: “Jobcentre Plus centres are there to serve their communities, when people are often at their most vulnerable, these proposals will fail to do this adequately.

“We urge the Government to look at this policy again and come back with a coherent solution that works for the people who use the service, as well as being value for money.”