Peter Dowd

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Department for Work and Pensions

Dear constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about the Government’s plans to close a number of sites operated by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

I note that when this issue was debated by the House of Commons in March, the Minister for Welfare Delivery declined to give a definite figure for the number of job losses. However, according to various estimates these plans will lead to over 1,000 job losses. The DWP has pledged that it would support those affected back into work. However, to date, it has not come forward with a plan to do so. I believe that Ministers can and should do more and I share the Shadow Minister’s view that this move is at odds with the Government’s stated ambition to level up and can be described more accurately as levelling down.

I am concerned that these plans mean that local communities will lose hundreds of jobs. Many of the offices earmarked for closure are in areas of economic deprivation where the loss of good-quality public sector jobs will be particularly felt. Therefore, I support calls for the Government to draw up a plan to help those communities attract well-paid jobs back to their local areas.

More widely, these job losses come at a time when families and working people are being hit hard by the cost-of-living crisis with the price of petrol, food and energy all rising rapidly. With average energy bills increasing by over 50% in the first half of 2022, I believe doing nothing is not an option. That is why I am campaigning for a windfall tax on energy companies. It has been estimated that this could raise more than £3 billion, money that would make a real difference to people across our country. On top of this, I am calling on the Government to scrap VAT on home energy bills for the financial year starting in April 2022. Ministers should also provide focused and targeted support through increasing and expanding the Warm Homes Discount so that almost 10 million people can benefit from it. Taking all these steps could help those most in need save £600 a year, providing much needed support to people across the UK.

Thank you once again for contacting me.

Yours sincerely,

Peter Dowd MP