South Norfolk MP Richard Bacon has called on the Department of Work and Pensions to plough the savings it has made from the roll-out of the new Jobcentre Plus network into staff training, as a new report finds staff were not ready for their new offices to open.

Mr Bacon said: “The roll-out of the Jobcentre Plus office network may have been a success, but some staff were not ready for their new offices to open their doors, and felt overwhelmed.  If staff are not trained properly, then their posh new offices are an irrelevance. 

“The Department for Work and Pensions should plough the savings it has made into ensuring that all Jobcentre Plus staff are properly trained”. 

Mr Bacon, MP for South Norfolk, was speaking as the National Audit Office (NAO) published its report on the roll-out of the Jobcentre Plus office network.  The report finds that staff at some sites told the NAO that they were not adequately trained and felt overwhelmed during the first few months of their offices being open. 

A review process was put in place for the project, which included sign-off on staff readiness. However, feedback from those involved in the project suggests that the reliability of this process was questionable and no spot checks were requested to support the sign-off certificates.

22 February 2008 

See also:
NAO REPORT: The roll-out of the Jobcentre Plus office network