Jobcentre services and staff to be cut (From Penarth Times)

Jobcentre services and staff to be cut

STAFF at Penarth job centre could be changing jobs themselves with the announcement of cutbacks by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) which would see Penarth lose the advice services provided for decades by its Jobcentre.

Four advisory jobs are likely to be lost from the Penarth Jobcentre.

The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) has condemned the DWP plans under which advisory services currently delivered in Penarth to Jobseekers, disability benefits customers, 16-17 year-olds and lone parents, would be delivered in either Barry or Cardiff jobcentres.

A spokesperson for the PCS said: "The reduction of customer service in Penarth takes place in the context of massive cuts across the civil service, which recently saw civil servants take strike action.

"The Penarth move shows that these cuts are at the expense of a reliable, accessible service to the public.

"In the immediate future, the Penarth Jobcentre will remain open, although offering a reduced service to the public."

Jeff Evans, senior Welsh official of PCS, which represents Jobcentre workers, said: "This is a significant erosion of the level of service our members provide to the public in Penarth and surrounding areas and which they want to continue to provide.

"We feel strongly that the proposed cuts will dramatically reduce ease of access to help and services for the DWP's customers, and will also greatly affect the civic identity of Penarth.

"It is clear to us that these plans offer no possible benefit to the people of Penarth, Sully, Llandough and Dinas Powys."

The Department for Work and Pensions said: "We are currently modernising our infrastructure and working methods so that we operate more efficiently.

"Changes to our working method has, for example, cut bureaucracy and duplication releasing more of our staff for frontline work.