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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
David Lynch

Mobile Jobcentre vans at football clubs, mosques and retail parks to get people ‘back into work’

The Jobcentre vans will park up outside football clubs, mosques and retail parks - (REUTERS)

Mobile Jobcentre vans will park up outside football clubs, mosques and in retail parks across areas with high

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said the vans were an "inclusive and accessible" way to connect with people and encourage them back into the workforce.

Bolton, Greater Manchester, with an unemployment rate above the national average, has already seen the vans in action, including a recent appearance at a Bolton Wanderers Football Club match day.

The DWP said the aim was to reach individuals who might not typically visit a traditional jobcentre, as part of a drive to reduce the number of people out of work.

The vans are also touring Flintshire, Denbighshire and Wrexham, in north Wales, and another will soon be launched in Scotland covering Moray and the Highlands, according to the DWP.

Rachel Reeves and employment minister Alison McGovern (PA Wire)

Employment minister Alison McGovern said the Government wanted to “see everyone, in every corner of the country, become better off” by being offered the opportunity of a “good job”, as she joined the Bolton mobile jobcentre outside a children’s centre on Monday.

“This mobile jobcentre is a perfect example of an inclusive and accessible DWP solution that ensures no one misses out on the job support they deserve,” Ms McGovern added.

“Getting more people back into work is a key part of our Plan for Change to deliver economic growth, create better opportunities and put more money into the pockets of working people.”

Ministers are seeking to bring down the number of working age people who are out of work as a means of cutting the benefits bill.

Some 2.8 million people are out of work due to long-term sickness, rising from two million before the pandemic, according to Government figures.

Alongside efforts aimed to encouraging more people into work, like the jobcentre vans, ministers are believed to be considering tougher conditions for benefits payments.

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