The relocation of two Liverpool job centres will have an “immense” impact on communities, an MP has claimed.
Letters seen from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) by the ECHO show that centres at Hyde Park Street, Toxteth, and St John’s Market, will close in March next year. Staff will be relocated to a single site on Duke Street.
In March, the government confirmed the Belle Vale DWP site on Childwall Valley Road was also earmarked for closure.
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The letters were sent by Employment Minister Mims Davies to Liverpool Riverside MP Kim Johnson. Ms Johnson said she felt the decision had been sudden and relocating jobs from Toxteth could have “significant long-term impact” on jobs in the area.
In her letter, Ms Davies said the government was “taking advantage of the opportunities offered by lease breaks” on older job centres to “allow a move to better accommodation.” Ms Johnson said: “I was really shocked to receive two letters announcing the closure of the Toxteth and St John's Market Job Centres, with their services and nearly 200 jobs being moved to Duke Street.
“I spoke with the Minister to raise my concern around the sudden decision, with inadequate assessment on how this will impact staff or service users. No meaningful equalities impact assessment has taken place – which is especially concerning given Toxteth is set to lose 163 jobs that will be relocated instead to the centre of the city, which is likely to have a significant long-term impact on employment in the area and on the diversity of the staff at the new site.
“When I raised questions about the lack of public transport for staff and service users and how this would impact on both the cost of living crisis and net zero targets, I was met with vague ideas around encouraging flexible working and car pooling.” Ms Johnson questioned those suggestions and asked how her constituents “many from some of the most deprived wards in the city” afford the added time and money it will take to attend the Duke Street office.
She said: “Although I’m pleased we aren’t going to see imminent job losses, I am disappointed that future cuts haven’t been ruled out. As it stands, the impact on the communities that will lose this vital service in their neighbourhoods will be immense.
“At the height of the cost of living crisis, with many businesses still reeling from the impact of the pandemic, this decision could not have come at a worse time.”
Claire Jones, from the Public and Commercial Services Union, said there was a "serious concern" around the closures and the impact on the communities the sites served.
