Wellington's Jobcentre to close despite concerns
Wellington's Jobcentre is to close, the Government has confirmed, with services transferred to the branch in the centre of Telford.
Despite concerns among users that the distance between the branches is too great, and the cost of using a bus to travel into the town too high, plans to shut the New Street centre are now set to go ahead.
The Department for Works and Pensions ran a consultation into the closure, and said it was reasonable for jobseekers to travel three miles or 20 minutes by public transport to their nearest alternative centre.
Despite the move to Telford being greater than that, the department is to press ahead with the plan, and said it could reimburse Wellington users the additional cost of travel into Telford.
In a statement following the consultation, it said: "The points raised by respondents do highlight difficulties raised in making these changes, but DWP has to balance the need to provide services along with the budget it has to deliver those services.
"The recommendation of this report is to proceed with the proposal to close Wellington Jobcentre and transfer services to Telford Jobcentre."
Wellington's is one of a number of centres facing closure, with a total of 750 jobs affected. The Public and Commercial Services union said more than 70 jobcentres will close.
The DWP said its plans reflect the fact that eight out of 10 claims for Jobseeker's Allowance and 99 per cent of applications for the Universal Credit full service are now made online.
Employment Minister Damian Hinds said: "These changes reflect the fact that more people access their benefits online, resulting in many of our buildings being under-used."
